My Inner Demons
by soulsearcher1
Summary: After the Cell games, Gohan struggles with guilt. What happens when he makes one of the biggest mistakes of his life? What will the Z fighters do when Trunks and Goten starts talking about their big brother, but don't know who he really is? Gohan watches over them from beyond his grave, but is he still the sweet, innocent boy they all knew and loved?
1. Chapter 1

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.

Important note: Some are out of character and a lot had to be changed for the sake of this story. Some things I took from the anime itself, like the explanation of the Z sword and the fusion.*

"Daddy!" Gohan screamed, tears running down his cheeks as his golden aura surrounding him flickered wildly. It's my fault, I should have killed Cell sooner! Gohan immediately started blaming himself.

The others just stared on in disbelief, not believing that Goku was gone. Krillin walked over to Gohan and placed his hand on his shoulder, reassuring the boy as much as he possibly could.

"That's it, just let all out, buddy," Krillin said with a small smile.

Briefly, everything seemed to be finally over, the threat was gone. That relief was short lived as a Ki blast was sent at them, soaring past everyone and blasting through Trunks' chest. Shocked everyone followed the blast, but quickly turned back when they heard familiar laughter.

"Hahahaha! My aim is still as good as always, it's so good to be back," Cell laughed, staring menacingly at the people bellow him as he descended and landed softly in front of them. Gohan felt his hope slip right through him as he powered up, trying to convince himself that he could defeat this evil and that everything would go back to normal. Shock coursed through him as he watched Vegeta attack the android. His hope slipped completely as he jumped in front of Vegeta, preventing the man from being killed by Cell's powerful blast. He stood in front of Vegeta, his arm hanging limply by his side as he waited for his demise, the earth's demise. He was, once again, shocked when Vegeta apologized, feeling rather sympathetic for the man.

He was prepared for his death, when his father's voice rang through his head, his guilt doubling when he realised that it was his fault for not only his father's death, but Trunks' as well. His father told him to stop feeling guilty, that it wasn't his fault, but he knew, deep down, that it was entirely his fault. His father helped convince him to continue fighting, to save the world. He and Cell both used the kamehameha to destroy each other. Cell's blast was quick to overtake Gohan's, nearly taking over completely. He watched as the others blasted attacks at Cell, trying to weaken him. He felt his guilt triple when they got blasted away, hurt. His father told him that they could look after themselves and that he needed to focus on Cell and letting go of his true power. He searched deep within himself and with the help and encouragement of his father, was able to pull out that power and destroy Cell completely.

Exhausted, Gohan fell from the sky and landed on his back, breathing heavily. The others surrounded him, relieved smiles on their faces as they watched Gohan laugh. Soon they flew up to the lookout together to wish back those who were killed by Cell. Gohan felt some of the guilt leave him once Trunks was back, but it grew more intense once his father told them that he didn't want them to bring him back, feeling he would only bring danger and harm to his family and friends. Gohan was broken completely, not knowing how to react. He smiled a fake smile at Krillin, not wanting the man to see his pain. Now he was left with the daunting task of telling his mother the news. He thought over how to break it to her as he flew home quietly.

He landed outside, barely registering his mother storming out of the house and enveloping him in a bone crushing hug, throwing question after question at him. He noticed his grandfather standing behind his mother, a concerned look on his face.

"Gohan, where's Goku?" Chi-Chi asked, staring at her son, wanting a reply.

"He's dead," Gohan said, no emotion showing on his face or in his eyes. He looked empty, completely void of any emotion.

"W-what?" Chi-Chi stuttered, something very rare for the feisty woman.

"He died against Cell, he doesn't want to be brought back," Gohan explained briefly.

"Oh, Gohan," Chi-Chi said, wanting to embrace her son as tears rolled down her cheeks, but was shocked when he dodged her, walking towards the house.

"I'd like to be alone, please," Gohan said quietly, not waiting for a reply as he entered their house.

Chi-Chi stared after her child, wanting to comfort him, but knowing he wants his space, she let him be to mourn in his own way.


	2. Chapter 2

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, suicide, angst and character death.*

Gohan sighed as he stared at the baby sitting in front of him, chewing one of his toys as he stared back at the teenager. Gohan frowned at the thought of having a baby sibling. His mother had told him the news a few weeks back, though he did feel another Ki signature coming off of her, he had hoped that he was mistaken. It had been a little over three months since the Cell Games, when his father died, the woman was so excited for a new arrival that she completely forgot about her husband's passing. She was so busy preparing for his sibling that she often forgot she had another child, though Gohan knew she was just trying to distract herself.

He was happy yet upset at the same time of her forgetting about him, he now didn't need to listen to her constantly nagging at him to study and other things, though he still did it on his own. He desperately craved some of her motherly love and attention, though she would often just brush him off and tell him to go do something and that she was to busy. He was currently at Capsule Corporation playing with Trunks. His mother had come along and went baby shopping with Bulma. He sensed Vegeta come closer as the prince had been standing in the doorway for quite some time now. He looked up as the man stood before him, demanding that he train with him. Gohan felt himself sigh again as he looked down at the floor, preparing himself for the consequences of what he was about to say.

"I'm watching Trunks, Vegeta. I can't leave him," Gohan said, using the excuse of watching Trunks instead of telling the prince the truth.

"I don't care, give the boy to the woman's mother," Vegeta said, growing rather impatient.

"I promised Bulma I'd watch him," Gohan said weakly.

"I said give him to the woman's mother! Now get up and go give the boy to her and go to the Gravity Room! Now!" Vegeta said, irritated.

"I don't want to, Vegeta! Get that through your head and leave me the hell alone!" Gohan yelled, feeling his Ki flickering violently as he stood and stumbled away from the prince, who was quite shocked by the youngers outburst, but refused to show anything.

"Boy-" Vegeta started, but was cut off as Gohan ran out of the room and the house, flying away from the older.

Vegeta looked in the direction of where Gohan had ran off to before turning around and staring at his son, who smiled at him and started talking, trying to say a few words, though the baby failed. Vegeta frowned at the purple headed boy, who continued to chatter on with his father. Vegeta sighed quietly and picked the boy up and watched as his son started giggling at him. He held Trunks more comfortably and turned to take him to Bulma's mother, but stopped when he felt his mate's Ki signature nearby, knowing that she was coming home with Gohan's mother. Good. He needed to tell that woman to have a serious talk with her brat about his manners. He waited a few minutes when the two woman entered the house, chattering away happily.

Bulma stopped short when she noticed Vegeta with Trunks, confused as to why the prince would rather have the boy when she had asked Gohan to watch him.

"Vegeta? Where's Gohan?" She asked, glancing around for any sign of the boy.

"The brat left, you need to teach that boy some manners," Vegeta stated as he looked at Chi-Chi briefly before handing Trunks over to his mother.

Chi-Chi frowned, wondering why Gohan would be disrespectful. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Bulma's mother entered the room, insisting that she stay for lunch. Chi-Chi did have a wonderful time that day and was very tired by the time she got home. She placed the food that Bulma's mother had given her for Gohan on the kitchen counter, quickly writing a note and placing it by the food, she retired back to her room, not noticing that Gohan wasn't home.

It wasn't until the following day that Gohan returned, later in the afternoon. His mother was sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for him. The moment he stepped foot in the house, she instantly started shouting at him for being late and disrespectful toward Vegeta, saying how she had raised him better. Gohan wasn't necessarily listening to what she was saying, he just felt happy that he was finally getting some attention from his mother, even if she was scolding him.

"You hear me?! You are grounded, Gohan!" She said, not noticing the distant look in Gohan's eyes.

"But mom-" Gohan tried to defend himself, but his mother wouldn't listen.

"No! Go to your room and study, Gohan! Now!" She yelled.

Gohan stood, staring at her with lifeless eyes. He felt dead. He felt as if he was just in his mother's way and that she didn't want him near her. That would explain why she was always doing other things like knitting and going out with Bulma to buy baby things and just brushing him off and telling him to go study. Did she blame him, too? The others might think that they're hiding it well, but he noticed them looking at him with hatred. They wished he were gone, out of their way, just like his mother. She already loved her unborn baby more than Gohan. She loved the baby so much, she was devoting most of her time to the child and it isn't even born yet. It makes sense, the child wasn't a murderer. It didn't kill their father like Gohan did. Gohan stood there, staring at his mother with a blank look on his face. She started growing concerned for her son, wanting to go over to him and comfort him. She was distracted, however, by the sound of a helicopter landing outside, knowing the others had arrived. She had invited everyone over for lunch, hoping that it would cheer her eldest son up. She had noticed that he was rather depressed and distant lately.

She smiled and turned back to her son who still had that blank look on his face.

"I invited the others over for lunch, come let's go greet them," she said as she grabbed Gohan's arm and tugged him outside.

There they were greeted by their group of friends. She had managed to get Piccolo, Dende, Tien and Chiaotzu to come as well. She just wanted her baby boy to be happy again.

"Hey guys!" Bulma greeted happily, carrying Trunks in her arms. The baby immediately started reaching for Gohan, wanting to play with the teenager. Gohan didn't notice as he was to busy staring at the others, an angry look slowly slipping onto his features. All he could see was the hateful glares. Even Piccolo was giving him a hateful glare.

"Hey, Gohan!" Krillin greeted with a large smile, not noticing the teenager's inner turmoil. They all hated him, every single one of them. In a few years, his little sibling will hate him, too. He doesn't blame them, he deserves all the hate, but he wishes that they wouldn't make it so obvious.

"Gohan?" Bulma asked as she stepped closer to the boy.

"What?!" The teenager snapped, his Ki flaring wildly.

The group reacted to late as Gohan turned into a Super Saiyan, his Ki flaring and managing to knock his mother and Bulma off their feet as they hadn't had the chance to prepare themselves. Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Piccolo and Vegeta took on their fighting stances. Bulma managed to scurry out of the way, Trunks still in her arms, crying loudly from being knocked over.

Gohan felt his anger take over completely and ascended into his Super Saiyan 2 form, screaming. Once he stopped transforming, he shot a powerful Ki blast in the groups general direction before he took to the air, flying away. Vegeta had just managed to cover Bulma and Trunks. Once the dust and rubble settled down, they immediately took off after the teenager, not knowing what the boy will do in his rage.

"What the hell was he thinking?" Yamcha asked the group going after the teenager.

"That's just it, he wasn't thinking at all," Tien spoke from where he was flying next to Yamcha and Krillin, Piccolo and Vegeta in front of them.

"We have to find him and quickly, too," Piccolo stated.

They sensed Gohan's Ki flaring wildly as he landed. They were quick to follow, wanting to stop him from doing something he might regret.

Gohan descended and landed in a deserted area. He glanced around, feeling that the others were close to him before he gripped his head, screaming at the top of his lungs, the very earth shaking beneath him as he powered up, going beyond his limits. He sensed the others landing behind him, he continued screaming for a different reason though.

He was in pain. His head hurt along with his throat as tears fell down his cheeks. He was trying to scream all his emotional pain away. His guilt for his father's death, the hatred he felt from his family and friends as well as the feeling of abandonment. His father left him and didn't want to come back, though be was the cause of his death, however, now that his mother was abandoning him as well, he felt utterly alone. He had no one. That thought caused him to scream even louder, his Ki spiked once again, the wind whipping around them, causing the others to cover their eyes. Krillin felt his heart squeeze at the child's cries, it was quite obvious that he was hurt. Piccolo felt the boy's power pulse through him, he could feel the emotional pain rolling off of the boy in waves. Everything stopped suddenly as Gohan collapsed onto his hands and knees, breathing heavily with his eyes shut tightly, tears still rolling down his cheeks.

Vegeta felt that the boy's Ki was very low and so decided to punish him for nearly killing his mate and child. Vegeta turned into a Super Saiyan and walked over to the boy and kicked him, hard. Gohan coughed up blood as Vegeta proceeded to throw a series of kicks and punches at him, all the while yelling at him for nearly killing his mate and child, for showing him such disrespect.

"Vegeta! Stop, you'll kill him!" Krillin yelled, not wanting his best friend's child to die.

Vegeta kicked Gohan hard. The boy skidded a few feet away, landing on his back.

"I should kill him!" Vegeta screamed, aiming a Ki blast at the demi Saiyan.

Piccolo made a move to pull off his cape and turban, but stopped short.

"Do it!" Gohan yelled, shocking nearly everyone around him

"Just do it! I deserve it! It's my fault, it's all my fault!" Gohan yelled as he started crying once again.

Vegeta lowered his arm and stared at the boy, silently cursing Goku. Look at what you have done, Kakarot. Your son doesn't even have a will to live anymore.

Yamcha ran over to the fallen Saiyan, quickly looking him over.

"Are you alright, kid?" Yamcha asked but received no reply.

"Gohan? Gohan!" Yamcha yelled, temporarily panicking.

Krillin ran over, noticing the child's short, quick gasps for air.

"We have to get him back to Dende," Krillin said, glancing over at the others.

Yamcha nodded and lifted the boy carefully before taking to the air. The others following closely behind. Once they landed back at the Son residence, Chi-Chi ran up to them.

"Gohan! Oh my poor boy!" She yelled and cradled him in her arms once Yamcha had placed him on the ground carefully.

"Dende!" Piccolo yelled, gaining the smaller Namekian's attention.

"Right!" He nodded before rushing over and healing Gohan. Once he was finished, everyone stared at Gohan, waiting for him to wake up. He didn't.

"Maybe we should take him inside?" Krillin suggested as he lifted Gohan, walking to the boy's room with Chi-Chi following closely behind.

Oh Goku. She thought. What am I going to do?


	3. Chapter 3

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Gohan stared as he thought. It's been nearly a month since the accident and everyone was avoiding him like the plague. His mother was the worst, though. She was so busy now that she hardly even looked in his direction now. Gohan's guilt has grown overwhelming. He wanted to apologize to the others for hurting them, but his mother wouldn't let him leave the house at long periods of time. He doesn't care anymore, they would just give him that hateful stares. Even Eighteen hated him and she hardly knew him. Perhaps it was because he had killed Goku and she couldn't. He shrugged at his thoughts, using his razor blade to cut at his wrist again. After the accident, he had noticed that his skin was quite a bit more fragile than usual, so he used other methods to deal with his guilt, sadness and slowly growing hatred. He had noticed that it was starting a few weeks ago, whenever he thought of his father, he would start getting angry at the man.

Gohan shook his head, trying to get his thoughts away from the older and instead focused on the red liquid that was dripping from his wounds. He stared, mesmerized, wanting to see more of his own blood. Gohan pressed the razor against his arm once again and cut a vertical line down his arm and over previous cuts. This one was much deeper, though, as he purposely hit a vein. He had already done the same to his right arm and had ran out of space to cut, so he moved on to his other arm. Both his arms were littered in cuts, varying in size. Gohan stared at both his arms as he let his razor fall, it landing in the small puddle of blood that was quickly forming beneath the teenager. Gohan knew that he should probably seek medical help, but couldn't bring himself to do so. He didn't care, he wanted to bleed out and leave this place behind. He didn't even care whether he went to hell or not, he just needed an escape. Gohan sighed as he started to feel dizzy, falling backwards so he could lay down on the bed with his legs still dangling over the side, his arms by his side as Gohan closed his eyes, feeling himself slowly starting to grow numb. He felt his Ki flicker wildly and then start to grow lower and lower. He knew that the others were going to be able to sense it and even if they did race here to try and save him, they would be to late.

Vegeta frowned as Bulma tried to force him into the helicopter, wanting to go visit Gohan and Chi-Chi. He sighed and made a move to argue against her when he felt Gohan's Ki flicker before lowering to a dangerous level. He looked in the direction he felt Gohan's Ki coming from and noticed that his mother was there as well. Vegeta moved quickly, already knowing what was going on. He grabbed Bulma, who was holding Trunks and flew into the air before blasting off. Bulma tried protesting all the way there, but stopped after she noticed Piccolo in front of them, flying a few feet ahead of them. Vegeta felt something he never felt before. He was panicking. When they landed, they noticed Chi-Chi bustling about in the kitchen, oblivious as to what was happening in her sons room. Vegeta set Bulma down gently before rushing to the door and slamming it open, nearly giving the poor woman inside a heart attack.

Vegeta scowled at her confused look before rushing up the stairs, Piccolo right behind him. He tried opening Gohan's door, but frowned when he noticed it was locked. He scoffed and kicked the door in, ignoring Chi-Chi's yells at him as she climbed the stairs along with Bulma. Vegeta entered the room, his attention instantly being grabbed by the boy on the bed, parts of his clothing was soaked in blood along with his sheets. There was a puddle of blood on the floor near his feet. Vegeta stared, not knowing how to react. Piccolo turned just in time to prevent the two woman from entering the room. His face hard, he could feel his heart slowly start to break the more he understood what was going on. Gohan had killed himself and he had just lost his first and only friend. Piccolo squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again, looking into the confused eyes of Goku's wife.

"It's better if you didn't see this," he said, confusing the woman even more.

"See what, Piccolo?" Bulma asked, not understanding the men's actions.

Gohan stared at his own body, watching as Vegeta slowly approached it. A grim look on his own face, he was trapped. Something was keeping him here and he didn't know what it was. He sighed, he just wanted to leave. He watched as Vegeta lightly touched his cheek, staring at his face. Vegeta suddenly felt an immense amount of anger. He was angry at Goku for leaving them and not wanting to return. Did he even know what was happening? No, of course not. Vegeta thought bitterly. The idiot was probably to busy to notice that his son was slowly dying.

Chi-Chi grew frustrated and pushed past Piccolo, nearly having another heart attack at the sight of her son.

She let out a pain filled scream as she went over to him, touching his cheeks that was slowly starting to grow cold. She was slowly starting to get herself covered in blood as she started shaking his body, trying to wake him up.

"What's going-" Bulma asked as she entered the room, but cut herself off at the sight that greeted her. She quickly turned to cut off Trunks' sight from the scene though the baby had already seen.

"Gohan, wake up! Wake up! Baby, please wake up," Chi-Chi cried as she buried her face in the boy's chest. She started crying loudly, wailing for her baby boy to wake up, but nothing brought the boy back. Gohan watched the scene unfold from the side lines, not feeling the tiniest bit of guilt as he listened to his mother cry for him. He didn't feel anything at that moment. He looked over towards Piccolo, sensing the emotions coming off of the man. If Gohan were honest, the only thing he felt guilty about was leaving the Namekian. The man was confused and heartbroken. He didn't understand why Gohan hadn't just come to him and talk with him, he would have tried to help.

After nearly thirty minutes of his mother's continued wailing, she stopped. She just sat there and stared, not making a move. Bulma had asked Vegeta to move the body, but the prince couldn't find it in himself to move either. Piccolo was the one to react first and gently picked up Gohan's body, saying he would take it to the lookout and keep it there until they decided what to do. Vegeta snapped out of his trance and followed after the Namekian, not wanting to stay in that room for too long. Gohan had decided he would follow them as he had sensed the others landing outside. Vegeta was the first to walk outside.

"Hey, Vegeta! What happened? We noticed Gohan's-" Krillin started, but cut himself off as Piccolo walked outside, carrying Gohan's body. Krillin started to shake and fell to his hands and knees, squeezing his eyes shut as the tears fell. Even Eighteen looked shocked at the news, not understanding why the boy would take his own life. Piccolo barely spared them a glance before he took to the sky and flew away.

For the next few days, Gohan watched silently as Bulma made funeral arrangements, his mother was barely able to keep herself from crying every time Gohan's name was mentioned. Once it was the actual funeral, he watched as everyone said nice things about him, recalling memories of a time before this. Gohan didn't feel anything. He wasn't touched by the words spoken about him. He felt numb, though he was starting to wish he could feel something. Gohan watched as nearly everyone cried over him, with the exception of Piccolo and Vegeta, though he could sense Piccolo holding his tears back and that Vegeta was having an inner battle with himself. Gohan's senses were a lot more sensitive now, he could hear a lot better and see better, though he couldn't really smell anything. He could sense what people were feeling. He just couldn't bring himself to care as he sensed some form of regret come from everyone he knew.

Piccolo was flying back to the lookout, trying to make sense of things. Why hadn't Gohan just come to him? He might not be the best with emotions, but he could at least listen. Piccolo was confused, not noticing that he had already landed on the lookout floor. Piccolo wasn't one to show emotion, he had, at one time, thought that he didn't have any emotions to begin with. That was before Gohan. He remembered the first time he had officially met the boy. He was so small and weak, to soft and couldn't stop himself from crying for his daddy and mommy. Piccolo had secretly watched over the boy as he lived in the wilderness for those six months. He had watched as the little, defenceless and weak boy grew stronger. Piccolo can't remember when or how, but that little boy had somehow managed to worm his way into Piccolo's cold and frozen heart. Gohan was everything Piccolo wasn't. He was kind and gentle, warm, a light in the darkness. Piccolo was rude, grumpy and cold, stuck in that never ending darkness. Until Gohan wormed his way into his cold heart.

Gohan was a beacon of light in that darkness, his warmth coaxing Piccolo to go into that light. Gohan warmed and melted his frozen heart. But, it seems Piccolo couldn't do the same for his friend. Gohan's light had slowly started to flicker, the cold had slowly over taken his warmth, until it was all gone. The light faded out and the warmth was frozen. Piccolo's shoulders started shaking, not noticing Dende and Popo approaching him. They stopped a few feet away, noticing Piccolo's pain. Piccolo felt as though he failed. He failed Gohan. He broke his promise to protect Gohan.

"Please, forgive me, my friend. I failed. I failed you," Piccolo cried, nearly collapsing at the emotional pain he was feeling. He didn't mean to

He didn't notice and now, he was paying the ultimate price for making that mistake.


	4. Chapter 4

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Gohan stood leaning against the kitchen counter and watched as the family in front of him ate breakfast. His mother had come to stay with the Briefs family until she gave birth. She had told Bulma that she didn't want to be alone at the moment. His mother was recovering quickly and was again knitting things for the baby who was to be born in a mere two months. Gohan could feel that they were slowly starting to forget about him. It was frustrating him in a way, that they could forget him so easily. The only person who constantly thought of him, was Vegeta. As strange as it may sound, the prince could not stop thinking of him. Gohan, of course, could sense what the reason was

Vegeta sighed quietly, not really feeling up to eating right now. His thoughts drifted towards the demi saiyan. Vegeta was starting to get frustrated with the whole thing. He could not get that brat out of his mind. Though Vegeta still felt a certain weight on his chest, it was steadily growing heavier and heavier. He was angry with himself that he hadn't noticed Gohan's depression earlier. He was the boy's prince for Kami's sake, how could he not have noticed it? However, he wasn't the boy's parent, it wasn't his job to notice and help the boy. But the boy was a Saiyan, for crying out loud! He should have just sucked it up and dealt with it! Though, Gohan has always been soft, letting his emotions getting in the way. Vegeta sat wondering as he had done countless other times, did Gohan mean to actually commit suicide? Was it an accident?

Vegeta felt guilty for not noticing the boy's troubles and at least making an effort at helping him. As he was thinking now, it was quite obvious, the fake smiles and laughs, acting as though his father's choice hadn't hurt him. He had also noticed that the boy was blaming himself for quite a few things, his father's death one of the biggest things. All of this was Kakarot's fault! Does he even know that his son is dead? Is Gohan in heaven, or is he in hell? Does he feel peaceful wherever he is? Vegeta hoped, a rare feat for the Saiyan prince, that Gohan found that peace he so desired.

Vegeta was pulled out if his thoughts by his son, who was calling him and pointing at the kitchen counter.

"Daddy, daddy! Look! Boy! Hello boy! Boy sit?" Trunks asked waving his little arm wildly at the kitchen counter. Everyone turned their attention to where Trunks was looking and waving.

Gohan smiled and waved back at the little boy, he had discovered a few weeks ago that the little boy could see him. He had felt a great amount of relief when it had happened. Gohan was slowly starting to gain his emotions back, though they were mostly negative.

"There's no one there, Trunks," Vegeta said, grunting as he started eating again.

Trunks' face fell, saddened that his father doesn't believe him.

"Hey Trunks," Gohan said, gaining the little boy's attention, "Don't listen to what old grumpy pants is saying, alright?"

Trunks broke out in a smile, clapping his hands and giggling at the new nickname for his father.

Vegeta stared at the little boy, wondering if it were normal for the boy to have an imaginary friend at such a young age.

Months went by with Trunks continuously mentioning a boy that was constantly around them.

Trunks was currently sitting on the living room floor with Chi-Chi knitting as she sat on the couch, quite uncomfortable with her baby kicking her constantly. Vegeta sat on another couch, watching television as he was taking a break from his training. Bulma was sitting next to the prince, though she was paying more attention to what her son was doing than anything else.

"This my car, see?" Trunks said as he picked up one of his toys and showing it to Gohan.

"I see, that's a cool car, huh?" Gohan said, amusement shining in his eyes.

"Yes, my car cool," Trunks said as he placed the toy back on the floor, trying to decide what else to show the boy.

Bulma watched with a smile on her face, it was cute to see her son showing off his toys to his imaginary friend. Vegeta glanced at his child from the corner of his eye.

"Boy? What boy name?" Trunks asked, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

"I don't remember, Trunks," Gohan said, a soft expression on his face. He had gradually forgotten quite a bit of things about himself.

"Boy don't remember?" Trunks asked, confusion written all over his face.

"Yes, I don't remember anything," Gohan explained.

"Boy not worry, me name boy?" Trunks asked.

"Sure go ahead, buddy," Gohan laughed.

Trunks looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I think, okay boy?" Trunks said, not being able to come up with a name at the moment.

"Sure," Gohan said with a reassuring smile.

"When baby come, he can help Trunks name boy," Trunks said while pointing at Chi-Chi's stomach.

Gohan glanced back at his mother, noticing that she was silently staring at the two, though she was only supposed to be staring at Trunks. Gohan sighed quietly before turning back to Trunks, who was staring at him with curiosity.

"Why boy sad?" He asked.

"I miss someone," Gohan explained, watching as Trunks started looking sad himself.

"Boy miss family?" Trunks asked.

Gohan smiled sadly and nodded at the boy, still slightly amused.

"Where family?" Trunks asked as he started frowning.

"Somewhere, I don't remember," Gohan explained, well aware of the eyes that were on them.

"Boy can't find family?" Trunks looked up at Gohan, his eyes saddening as Gohan shook his head.

"I be boy's family! That's my mommy and daddy! They be boy's mommy and daddy, too!" Trunks yelled happily as he pointed at Bulma and Vegeta.

"You sure grumpy pants would want another son?" Gohan asked, laughing when Trunks started giggling and fell over.

As Trunks sat up, a thoughtful look crossed over his face as he slowly stood and walked over to his parents, wobbling slightly as he went. He walked to Vegeta and tugged on his pant leg, grabbing Vegeta's attention. He looked down at the boy who was staring at him curiously.

"You be boy's daddy?" He asked, a serious expression on his face.

Vegeta smirked briefly.

"Sure," he answered, wanting to keep the child happy.

Trunks giggled happily as he started walking back over to his toys and plopped down.

"Daddy be boy's daddy, okay? So boy no be sad anymore," Trunks said sternly.

"Hey buddy, tell daddy to call the ambulance," Gohan said as he could sense that Chi-Chi was about to go into labour.

"What?" Trunks asked, eyes big.

"Auntie Chi-Chi needs to go to the hospital," Gohan explained.

"Haspitol? What that?" Trunks asked, once again gaining everyone's attention.

"The baby's coming," Gohan said calmly.

"Baby coming?" Trunks repeated.

Just as he said that, Chi-Chi let out a scream, clutching her stomach in pain. Vegeta sat still for a moment. How did Trunks know that Chi-Chi would be going into labour? Shaking his head, Vegeta stood and glanced at Bulma who nodded and ran to the yard, grabbing Trunks as she went. Vegeta picked Chi-Chi up to carry her to the helicopter. It wasn't long until they reached the hospital, Gohan sensing Chi-Chi's pain the entire time.

They were sitting in the waiting room, waiting for a doctor to come out and tell them how it went. Trunks giggled as Gohan pulled faces at him, making the boy happy so that he wouldn't be able to sense what was going on.

Bulma laughed as Trunks attempted to pull faces at Gohan, too. She found it funny that the boy was laughing and pulling faces at nothing. She stopped watching once the doctor came in, asking for the people who was there for Son Chi-Chi.

"How is she?" Bulma asked, worried something might have gone wrong.

"She's fine, just resting now, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy," the doctor explained with a smile.

Bulma smiled as she turned to Vegeta, who didn't seem to be paying any attention to what the doctor was saying.

"Can we see them?" Bulma asked. The doctor nodded, gesturing for them to follow. They entered a room where Chi-Chi was laying, holding a little bundle in her arms. She smiled up at them once they entered the room. Bulma walked over and sat on the plastic chair next to Chi-Chi's bed.

"He looks just like Goku," Bulma said as she looked at the little boy that was laying wrapped in the blanket.

Gohan walked over, looking at the face of the new arrival. Bulma was right, he looked exactly like Goku, the only person he could remember. Intense anger filled Gohan as he stared at the baby's face.

"Boy? What name?" Trunks asked, staring at the little boy.

"Goten," Chi-Chi said, a smile on her face as she traced a finger over the little boy's face. Gohan's anger grew as he saw the two woman smiling down at the boy. Not even Trunks seemed to be noticing him anymore.

Vegeta stood off to the side, a small smile on his face that no one noticed. No one but one. Gohan let out an angry growl, catching Trunks' attention. The purple haired boy looked up at him. Gohan had a dark look on his face as he glared down at the baby, but he didn't understand, why was he so angry. Gohan stopped his glaring once he realised he wasn't actually angry at Goten, but at Goku. He just felt angry because Goten looked so much like Goku. Gohan visibly relaxed and leaned against the wall, looking at Trunks and smiling at the boy. Trunks hesitated, but smiled back.

"Boy be brother, too?" Trunks asked, though he was actually asking Gohan.

"Sure Trunks, Goten can be your brother if you want him to be," Chi-Chi answered, not looking up from her baby's face.

Gohan nodded at Trunks as the boy hadn't stopped looking at him. Trunks giggled happily.

"Now Trunks has two brothers! Big brother and baby brother!" He laughed cutely, first pointing to where Gohan stood then to Goten.

"You sure do, kiddo, you sure do," Bulma said, not wanting to hurt the child's feelings and tell him that his big brother wasn't real. He wasn't real, was he?


	5. Chapter 5

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Trunks giggled as Gohan pulled funny faces at him and Goten, the little boy laughing loudly. Bulma had insisted that Chi-Chi and Goten move in permanently, not wanting them to be alone. Chi-Chi didn't have the heart to say no, so once Chi-Chi felt the courage to go back, they left Goten and Trunks under the watchful eye of Bulma's mother and Android Eighteen, they left to move some of Chi-Chi's belongings to Capsule Corporation with the help of Krillin and Yamcha. Vegeta was supposed to help, but he had disappeared. He did show up later, though, to help carry the heavier things. He had skipped out on the packing. Chi-Chi sighed as she glanced around the room. The room that used to belong to Gohan.

"Hey, Chi-Chi," Bulma said softly as she entered the room.

Chi-Chi showed no sign of moving.

Bulma sighed sadly as she walked over to the other woman, wrapping her arms around Chi-Chi to hug her. Chi-Chi collapsed into Bulma, crying softly.

"I miss him so much!" She cried, holding onto Bulma for dear life.

"I know, I miss him, too" Bulma said, trying to stop her own tears from falling.

"I should have known! I should have seen that he wasn't happy! I'm his mother and I didn't notice! I was selfish!" She wailed, feeling her heart break again. Krillin, Vegeta and Yamcha stood by the door, not knowing what to do or say.

"No one knew, Chi-Chi. He hid it well," Bulma said, rubbing her friends back.

Krillin felt his heart clench at that. They should have noticed. Krillin often wondered why they hadn't said anything about what had happened when they chased after Gohan. I guess we just didn't think he'd go so far as to take his own life. But that's no excuse! Krillin thought. Maybe they just didn't want to worry Chi-Chi. Krillin didn't really want to stick his nose in Gohan's business. The short male bowed his head, closing his eyes tightly, fists clenched at his sides. He felt as though he had failed Goku. He had silently promised himself that he'd watch over Gohan, but he guessed that he didn't do a very good job of that. He sent a silent prayer to Goku, praying the man would forgive him, but most of all, he prayed and hoped that Gohan would forgive him. He hoped that Gohan was in a better place. A peaceful place.

Yamcha glanced over at his friend, noticing the shorter male was shaking. Yamcha knew that Krillin was trying to prevent himself from crying. To stop himself from weeping alongside his best friends wife. Even Vegeta seemed troubled about the whole ordeal. The prince had closed his eyes, arms folded over his chest as he leaned against a wall. Though it may seem that the saiyan doesn't care, Yamcha knew better. He can see through this act. Vegeta would occasionally take in a shuttering breath, his arms were crossed for the sole purpose of hiding the fact that his fists were clenched. His brow would occasionally twitch when Chi-Chi let out a particularly heart wrenching cry. The prince might never admit it, but he himself was struggling to accept the boy's passing.

Yamcha looked off to the side, struggling to believe it himself. It's been months, nearly years, since Gohan passed and they were all still struggling to believe it. They never spoke the boy's name, not only because of Chi-Chi, but because no one could hear that name without nearly crying themselves. Yamcha closed his eyes, feeling as though he was being choked, though it was only because he was forcing himself not to cry. He prayed for Gohan to be happy and in a peaceful place, that's all the boy ever wanted. To live happily and peacefully. That's all he wanted.

Once Chi-Chi had stopped crying she glanced around the room.

"Is there anything you'd like to take from here?" Bulma asked, looking around as well.

"Yes," Chi-Chi answered, voice cracking slightly.

She walked over to the bookcase and pulled out a few books, one of which was a photo album. At the top sat a teddy bear that Gohan absolutely adored. It was his favourite. Chi-Chi managed to pull it down, hugging it to her chest as Gohan's smell wafted up her nose, giving her a feeling of comfort.

"Alright, let's go," Chi-Chi said as they left the room, leaving to go back to Capsule Corporation.

Once they arrived, they were greeted by a rather pleasant sight.

Trunks, Eighteen, Bulma's mother and Goten, who managed to sit up without falling over, were sitting in a circle, rolling a ball on the floor. The two boys kept giggling, finding the whole scenario quite funny. Gohan stood to the side, watching as the little group played. Trunks had tried to convince him to play, but Gohan had declined, not wanting to freak anyone out.

"Well isn't this a lovely surprise," Bulma said as she walked into the room.

"Mommy!" Trunks exclaimed, forgetting about the game completely as he scrambled to his feet and hugged his mother's legs.

Goten tried to stand up, but fell on his behind. The little child made a frustrated noise and tried again, succeeding in standing, but once he took a step forward, he fell. Eighteen laughed lightly as she caught the boy. He gave her a look of utter frustration.

Chi-Chi walked over and took the boy when Eighteen handed him to her, smiling down at the boy as he pouted at her. She kissed his forehead before putting him down again, telling him to stay with the others. Together they all carried the few boxes into Chi-Chi's room, where she sat silently on her bed, looking through the photo album. She touched a photo of her elder son, the very last picture she had taken before everything just went downhill. It was of him and Goku, both of them smiling brightly at the camera as the photo was taken. She could help the sob that left her as she remembered that happy moment before the Cell Games. It was Gohan's twelfth birthday. He seemed so so happy. She smiled through her tears, running her fingers over the photo, as if wanting to touch the boy himself. He was always so kind and full of life.

But after the Cell Games, it was as if the life was sucked right out of him. She believes that a part of Gohan had died along with Goku. She can't imagine the pain the boy must have felt when Goku had said that he didn't want to come back. She had gotten the full story from Krillin. A part of her knew that Gohan blamed himself for the death of his father. She knew that she could have handled the situation better. She was Gohan's mother after all, how could she not notice the fake smiles? She knows now that Gohan had lied everytime he had said that he was alright. She feels guilty. She should have paid more attention to Gohan, instead she gave her attention to preparing for Goten.

She was trying to distract herself from her own heartache and didn't immediately notice how depressed and distant Gohan had grew. It wasn't an excuse, she knew. There wasn't an excuse good enough for not noticing her sons pain. Gohan withdrew himself from them, pushing everyone away. And after the accident, he just wouldn't leave the house. She didn't want to push him to much and make him angry with her, so she let him be. Though she did and often still wonders what had gotten Gohan so angry? She didn't know. She just doesn't understand anymore. She sighed as she stood, walking over to the boxes and packed the things away that she had brought along. She hugged the teddy bear to her chest tightly once she was done. It smelled so much like Gohan. Silently, she promised herself that she would give it to Goten when he's older, but not yet.

Gohan watched as Chi-Chi hugged the bear. He stared at it, wondering what was so special about that particular bear. Suddenly he remembers something, but it was vague. He remembers the Cell Games, where his father died, he remembers the pain and feeling of abandonment, but not much more. He doesn't understand, was this what happened to him? Did he die at the Cell Games? He can't remember. Why does he feel like he was abandoned? Did his family abandon him? Perhaps, he died at the Cell Games. Maybe, he had begged for his father's help, but the man didn't help him. But why wouldn't his father help him? Did he do something wrong? That's it! Something was his fault, he just can't remember what. Whatever it was, it must be the reason why his father wouldn't help him. Gohan looked up when Chi-Chi opened the door and quickly followed after her. He would stay with her a little while longer, she helped him remember his past.

Vegeta sighed as he stared at his son and Goten playing together. The two boys looked up once Chi-Chi walked past, but their eyes didn't follow her, but something a little more behind her. That's when Vegeta decided that he was to ask some questions. Slowly he stood up and sat in front of the two boys.

"Trunks," Vegeta said.

"Yes, dad?" Trunks asked, looking up at his father. Goten looked up too, curious as to why the man was sitting there.

"Tell me, is your friend here?" Vegeta asked.

"Oh, you mean big brother? No, he's with auntie Chi-Chi," Trunks said, a frown slowly forming on his face.

Vegeta nodded, thinking of what to ask next.

"How old is he? Is he your age or my age?" Vegeta questioned.

"No, he's more in between. A big kid, like a bit older than me," Trunks answered, "Why are you asking, dad?"

"I'm curious, what does he look like?"

"Uhm well, it's hard to tell he's kind of invisible. Well not really, more like, he's kind of covered in mist almost? But he wears gi and his hair is kind of wild," Trunks answered.

Vegeta felt his heart beat loudly in his chest. Could it be?

"Is his name by any chance, Gohan?" Vegeta asked.

"I don't know, he doesn't remember his name," Trunks said, looking at his father curiously, "Do you know him, dad?"

"No, I thought I did, but it isn't him," Vegeta answered as he stood and left the room.

Trunks stared after his father, but quickly shrugged it off and continued to play along with Goten.


	6. Chapter 6

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Goten and Trunks laughed as they ran away from Gohan, who was covering his eyes and counting to twenty. They were currently playing hide and seek and Gohan was the one who had to seek. He chuckled to himself as he heard the kids' laughter all the way down the hall.

"17, 18, 19, 20! Ready or not, here I come!" Gohan yelled out, not worried that someone else might hear him. He wondered the halls, thinking of where those kids could possibly be hiding. Gohan stopped walking and searched with his senses finding that Goten was hiding in a nearby room. Slowly, Gohan pushed his head through the door and glanced into the room. To amuse his brother, as the two children called them his brother, he pretended that he didn't know where the little boy was.

"Goten? Are you in here?" Gohan called, looking underneath the bed and behind the door. He already knew where the boy was. He walked over to the closet and jumped dramatically through the door, laughing when the little boy fell over from fright.

"I found you!" He yelled.

"No fair, big brother, you cheated!" Goten yelled, pouting.

"What? No of course not!" Gohan said with a smile on his face.

Together they started searching for Trunks. They found him hiding in one of the kitchen cupboards.

"Geez, Trunks. That was a clever hiding place," Goten complimented, rubbing the back of his head with a wide smile on his face.

"Well of course, I am better than you," Trunks said, a smug look on his face.

"Lunch!" Chi-Chi yelled, grabbing the two boys' attention.

"Come on big brother! Before the others eat all the food!" Trunks yelled as he ran from the room, Goten hot on his heels.

It was one of the group's annual lunch day things. Chi-Chi and Bulma had started it around four years ago, they would cook up a storm and invite the entire group. It just so happened to be the day before he died, though Gohan couldn't remember anymore. He could hardly remember anything now. Gohan doesn't even remember the reasoning by his great anger for Goku, he doesn't even know if he had met the man before, all he knew was that every time the man's name was mentioned, he was blinded by his rage and would need to leave Capsule Corporation completely, not wanting the only two people who can see him, see him so angry.

Gohan slowly walked to the backyard where everyone was sitting around on picnic blankets, having conversations and occasionally laughing. Even Piccolo, Tien and Chiaotzu came along with Dende. Gohan stood to the side, longing to be a part of this memorable moment. He can't remember why, but he often wishes to be part of family moments. Does it have something to do with his past life? Maybe, he was ignore when he was alive, perhaps that's the reason why he always lonhed to be part of things like these. He knew he couldn't though, so settled for just watching from the side-lines.

"So, are you guys going to enter the World Martial arts tournament?" Chi-Chi asked curiously.

"I was thinking of entering, there is alot of money to be won," Eighteen explained glancing about the others.

"Krillin's entering, too," she continued.

"I think I'll enter, too!" A voice said.

Everyone glanced around, shocked at the person talking to them.

"Goku!" Krillin exclaimed.

In everyone's excitement, they all stood up, looking towards the sky.

"Is that really you?" Yamcha asked.

"You bet!" Goku said, his voice as friendly as always.

"Oh, Goku!" Chi-Chi said, tears building in her eyes.

"It's good to hear your voice, Chi-Chi," Goku answered.

"Are you really entering the tournament, Goku?" Krillin asked.

"Yeah! Turns out, I have a little credit! I get to come back for a whole day!" Goku said, excitement clear in his voice.

"Well if Kakarot's entering, then so am I," Vegeta stated.

"It'll be interesting, I bet," Yamcha said.

"Another chance at beating Kakarot, I must admit, I'm excited," Vegeta said, a smirk on his face.

"Beat me? Well I guess miracles do happen," Goku answered.

Gohan felt an overwhelming feeling of anger rush through him, it was close to hatred. Just hearing that man's voice, he was absolutely livid. Gohan wanted to leave, but stuck around to see how the other's reacted to. Once the man's voice left, promising to see them at the tournament, everyone cheered. Chi-Chi enveloped her son in a hug.

"Oh Goten, you get to meet your daddy! You finally get to meet your daddy," Chi-Chi cheered, nearly hugging the life out of the boy. Gohan felt a tickling sensation on his cheek, he raised his hand and touched where it tickled, noticing a wetness. He was crying. But why? Why did this entire situation make him so upset? Gohan turned quickly and left, not noticing the two boys staring after him.

"Mom, put me down," Goten complained, feeling the need to follow the teenager.

Once his mother placed him on the ground again, he ran in the direction that Gohan went.

"Trunks!" Goten yelled, wanting the other to follow after him.

"Right! Be right back!" Trunks yelled at the others as they ran after Gohan.

"Where is he?" Goten asked Trunks once they arrived to the front of Capsule Corporation.

"Look! Up there!" Trunks pointed at Gohan's retreating back as he flew away.

Goten and Trunks followed after their friend, flying quickly to catch up to him. They both had learned how to fly and fight from Vegeta, though the older saiyan was a little to tough on them. Gohan gave them lessons as well, though he was alot more nice and patient with the two boys.

They followed behind Gohan for about ten minutes when they noticed that he was slowly descending. He landed and almost immediately collapsed to his hands and knees. Flying and crying wasn't easy. He panted, trying to catch his breath and listened for when Goten and Trunks landed. Once they did land, they cautiously approached the teen.

"Are you okay?" Trunks asked as he stood next to Gohan.

Gohan looked up, sitting back on his legs and staring out in front of him. He nodded slowly.

"What is this place?" Goten asked as he sat down next to his brother, in the same position.

Gohan hesitated for a long while, not knowing whether or not he should answer the child

"This is where the Cell Games were held. I died here," Gohan explained.

"You died here?" Trunks asked, looking at Gohan with wide eyes. Gohan frowned deeply.

"Yes," he answered.

He wasn't lying entirely, this is where he lost all his hope to live. In a sense, a part of him died here along with his father.

"Do you remember your name?" Goten asked.

"No, I forgot my name along with a lot of other things," Gohan explained.

"Why did you look so sad earlier?" Goten asked again.

"Your father's voice, it reminded me of mine," Gohan answered after a long silent pause.

"Why does that make you sad?" Trunks asked, confused.

"It reminded me that I am forgotten," Gohan said.

"No your not! You're here, with us," Goten said, giving Gohan a reassuring smile, though it went unnoticed.

"I hate him," Gohan spoke softly.

"What?" Trunks asked.

"I hate him! It's his fault! HE'S THE REASON THAT I'M DEAD!" Gohan screamed, feeling his Ki rise. He turned into a Super Saiyan as he screamed. His aura blew the two boys away. As quickly as it had started, it stopped as he fell forward, barely managing to catch himself.

Goten stood up and stared at the boy's back. He could sense the emotions coming off of the boy, his anger and sadness.

Goten approached him slowly, ignoring Trunks' protests.

"Let's go home?" Goten asked from behind Gohan in a small voice.

Gohan turned and looked at the little boy. He smiled a small smile and nodded, standing up clumsily. He felt tired, exhausted, even.

"I'm sorry," Gohan said softly.

Trunks stood up quickly, dusting his close off.

"It's fine, we should get back, it's getting late," Trunks said.

They all took to the air and flew back to Capsule Corporation. It took longer going back than it had getting there, but once they landed in Capsule Corporation, they were immediately swarmed by their group and hugged by their mother's.

"Where have you been!" Chi-Chi yelled.

"We went after our big brother, he was really upset and we wanted to cheer him up," Goten explained.

Chi-Chi instantly knew that he was talking about their imaginary friend. She was angry, though, feeling as though their friend was placing their lives in danger.

"Alright, that is enough! Your 'big brother' doesn't exist!" Chi-Chi shouted, her face getting red from anger.

"He does too! He was crying, he was so sad, mommy! He flew to a place and we asked him what it was and he said that the Cell Games were held there!" Goten yelled, trying to defend himself and the teen.

Chi-Chi gasped not believing that they had managed to find that place. Without thinking, she raised her hand and slapped her son, hard. The sound echoed in the silence. Goten felt the tears run down his cheeks as one of them stung.

"M-mommy?" Goten asked, sniffing as he stared at her with big eyes.

"Go to your room, Trunks," Bulma ordered.

"But, mom-"

"Now, Trunks!" Bulma said, her voice stern.

"It's true! You have to believe us! Please!" Trunks yelled as Bulma began to drag him away.

"Please, just- he turned into a Super Saiyan!" Trunks screamed.

Everyone stopped, turning to look at Trunks.

"What did you say?" Vegeta asked.

"It's true! He flew us there! Goten asked what the place was and he said that the Cell Games were held there, and that he died there! Then he said that Goten's dad's voice reminded him of his own dad and that it made him sad, because they forgot about him. He then said that he hated his dad and then he started screaming and turned into a Super Saiyan!" Trunks exclaimed, his eyes shut tightly and his hands turned into fists.

Everyone was silent, not knowing what to do about this new information. Goten pulled away from his mother and ran into the building.

"Goten!" Trunks yelled and followed after his best friend.

Gohan stayed behind for a few moments, staring at Chi-Chi who was sitting on her legs. He looked at her and felt a new feeling rise within him the longer he stared. He felt disgusted. He couldn't believe that the woman would hit her own child. He scowled at her, his Ki flaring briefly before he left, running after Trunks and Goten.

He used his senses and found that the two boys were in Goten's room.

He walked through the closed door and saw Trunks holding his little brother, trying to comfort the little boy. He turned and notice the door was locked. He walked over to his little brother and kneeled by his side.

"Hey, don't cry, kiddo," he said in a soft voice.

"I can't believe she hurt me!" Goten wailed, clutching at his stinging cheek. He wasn't crying because it hurt, but more over the fact that it was his own mother who had hurt him.

Gohan felt his heart squeeze at the cries coming from the younger.

"Don't worry, Goten, I won't let anyone hurt you again," Gohan said.

"R-really?" Goten asked, whiping his tears away as he sniffed.

"Yes really," Gohan reassured.

"Do you promise?" Goten asked, staring at the older with wide eyes.

"I promise. I promise that I'll protect the both of you," Gohan promised as he looked between the two boys.

"Okay," Goten said in a small voice.

"Hey! Can you read to us?!" Trunks yelled, knowing it would cheer his friend up. Gohan laughed at them, his little brother already looking excited.

"Sure,"


	7. Chapter 7

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Chi-Chi breathed heavily as she listened to the boys from outside the bedroom door, her heart clenching when Goten wailed that he couldn't believe she had hurt him. The others stood to her side, listening as the boys made their friend promise them something. Chi-Chi smiled slightly when Trunks asked the friend to read to them. Soon after she could hear both boys laughing.

"What do you guys think about their story?" Bulma asked quietly.

"Their young, it could still be an imaginary friend," Yamcha reasoned.

"Yeah, but I mean, it sounds so much like, like," Krillin said, not being able to say the name that was silently forbidden from being spoken.

"It can't be him," Piccolo stated.

Everyone turned to him, questioning looks being thrown at the Namekian.

"What do you mean?" Tien asked.

"Trunks said that their friend had told them that he hates his father. Gohan doesn't hate his father, he was broken up about the mans death that he-" Piccolo explained before he cut himself off.

"That explains it,"

"Goten?" Chi-Chi asked as she entered the boys room. Goten looked up from playing with his toys as his mother entered. It had been a few days after she had slapped him, they were to leave for the tournament in approximately thirty minutes. The boy has managed to avoid her completely.

Goten looked to the side and saw Gohan leaning against the wall, he visibly relaxed once he notice the older in the room.

"Goten, sweetie, I have something for you," his mother spoke as she entered the room and sat in front of her son.

Goten ignored his mother, not noticing the tears slowly falling from her dark eyes.

She pulled a teddy bear from behind her back and placed it near the boy, who stopped playing with his other toys. It was the teddy bear that belonged to Gohan.

Gohan stared at the toy from across the room, feeling a sense of familiarity as he stared at it again.

"It belonged to, someone special," Chi-Chi said once she noticed she had the boy's attention. Chi-Chi picked it up again, briefly hugged it to her chest before she handed it over to the smaller.

"Someone special?" Goten asked as he held the toy, looking it over before it's sent wafted up his nose. It smelled familiar to him. Slowly, he hugged the bear to his chest, feeling an overwhelming need to cry. He looked at his mother with big glossy eyes, silently asking her why he was feeling this way.

"You see, a long time ago, there was a boy, a very special boy," Chi-Chi started, her voice cracking. Bulma walked into the room but stopped when she saw what was going on. Trunks, right behind her, listened intently to what the dark haired woman had to say.

"This boy, saved the world, he was a hero! But he lost something very dear to him. He lost his father in the battle to save our planet, when his father died, he took a piece of that special boy along with him. His father didn't mean to, he didn't know what he was doing, but the boy lost a very important part of him," Chi-Chi said, her tears falling freely now.

"What did he lose, mom?" Goten asked, interested in the story.

"Well, Goten, he lost his heart and without his heart, he was sad. His sadness grew so strong and overpowering, that not even he, the greatest hero of the world, could fight it any longer. He hid his pain so well from his friends and family that they never noticed, until it was to late. He died, because of that sadness. Unknowingly, he left behind his baby brother, who would now grow up without a father and brother. This teddy bear, Goten," Chi-Chi said as she placed her hand on the bears fluffy back.

"Was that special boy's. It was his and he loved it dearly. Do you know who that boy was, Goten?" Chi-Chi asked.

"No," Goten said softly as he shook his head.

Chi-Chi smiled sadly at him.

"He's your big brother, Goten," Chi-Chi said.

Goten gasped silently, finally letting go of his tears.

"B-but why did he leave?" Goten asked, voice broken.

"He didn't mean to, Honey, he would have loved you," Chi-Chi said as she grabbed the small boy and hugged him, crying along with the boy.

"W-what is his name?" Goten asked through his sobbing.

"His name is Gohan," Chi-Chi said, speaking the name she hadn't in over seven years.

Gohan glared at the woman holding the boy, rage filling him. He stopped short at the memories running through his mind. He gasped softly at the realization. He was Gohan.

A knock drew the three's attention. Bulma stood there, smiling at the two on the floor.

"I hate to interrupt, but we need to go," Bulma explain.

"Alright, we'll be right there," Chi-Chi said, a small smile on her face.

Bulma smiled back at her and nodded, turning and leaving the room. She knew it must be hard to tell the little boy about this. Bulma still couldn't bring herself to believe that Gohan was truly gone. She still struggled to sleep properly, images of Gohan laying on his bed, covered in blood, still haunted her dreams. She shuttered, placing her hand over her mouth to muffle a sob, completely forgetting that Trunks was still there behind her. She missed the bright smile that belonged to her vest friends eldest son. She often wondered what Gohan would have looked like, had he not died. Sighing she quickly whiped her tears away and continued down the hall. Trunks stared after his mother, wondering why everyone was acting so emotional.

Chi-Chi turned back to Goten, quickly whiping both of their tears away.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you, honey," Chi-Chi whispered.

"I'm sorry to, mommy," Goten said, hugging his mother tightly.

"Alright, we have to get going," Chi-Chi explained as she stood up.

"What does Gohan look like, mom?" Goten asked, eyes shining with curiosity.

"I'll show you some pictures when we get home, okay?" Chi-Chi said.

Goten nodded enthusiastically, hugging the bear to his chest before placing it on his bed gently.

Goten took his mother's hand, not noticing how the teenager glared at them, jealousy coursing through him.

They boarded on the helicopter, flying to the island where the tournament would be held. Gohan watched as Goten and Trunks talked, constantly giggling and laughing at whatever it was they were talking about. Gohan made an attempt to talk to the boys, but was brushed off completely, ignored even. Gohan looked at them, his smile quickly slipping off his face as fear began to build up in his chest. Gohan started screaming in pain, his body fading in and out. He stumbled backward and fell, curling up into a ball as the pain continued to rip through him. He continued to scream, but no one turned to him, not even the boys. That's when he realized, he was completely forgotten.


	8. Chapter 8

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Gohan breathed harshly as he followed his friends and family out of the helicopter. Gohan felt tears build up in his eyes as he was completely ignored, but refused to let them fall. He shoved his emotions away, not wanting to lose them in the crowd.

They stood off to a more secluded spot, waiting for Goku to show up.

"Man, it's crowded," Krillin stated.

"Hey, Goten?" Trunks called, catching the boys attention.

"Yeah?"

"Do you really believe that story your mother told you?" Trunks asked.

"I don't know," Goten said, looking around.

Trunks glanced around, too, frowning after a few moments.

"Hey, where's our big brother?" Trunks asked, unknowingly catching the other's attention.

"Maybe he stayed at home? Or he's exploring?" Goten suggested.

Trunks opened his mouth to protest, but got cut off by a weird whooshing sound.

There stood none other than Goku.

"Hey guys!" He greeted happily.

"Goku!" Krillin called, trying to keep in his tears.

It was silent for a moment.

"So are you guys going to just keep standing there?" Goku asked and was immediately tackled by a large hug from a number of people.

"Oh, Goku, I missed you!" Chi-Chi called, noticing how Goten was hiding behind her.

"I missed you, Chi-Chi," Goku answered and looked her over, noticing the small boy behind her legs.

He pushed passed his friends, going over to the little boy.

"Hi there, what's your name?" Goku asked as he kneeled before the boy.

"I'm Goten," the boy answered.

They stared at each other briefly before Goten ran from behind his mother's legs.

"Daddy!" Goten yelled, hugging his father tightly. Goku laughed whole heartedly, not noticing that someone was missing.

Gohan was so angry, he felt as though he could murder someone. He stared intensely at the scene before him, how his father was playing with his brother. He remembered that his father never played with him like that, he was forced to grow up to quickly.

Once Goku finished playing with Goten, he placed the boy down on the ground and ruffled his hair. Goku looked at all the smiling faces around him. Well except Piccolo and Vegeta. He found it strange that Vegeta was glaring at him more intensely than normal. Once he looked over all his friends and family he noticed that someone was missing. He was to shocked by the fact that android Eighteen was a part of Z warriors to mention it at that exact moment. After he congratulated his best friend on his relationship with the android, he finally made a move to bring it up.

He was cut off by Baba clearing her throat.

"Just remember Goku, twenty four hours, that's all I can do," she stated.

"Thank you, Baba," Goku said, fully expecting her to leave, but watched as she stared at a spot by a tree.

"Poor boy," she muttered, before turning and leaving.

Goku went to bring up the question, but was cut off again.

"We should go to the check in station before they close," Piccolo said.

Everyone turned to leave, but Goku glanced around confused.

"Wait guys!" He called.

They all turned around, giving him curious glances.

"Guys, where's Gohan?" He asked.

Tension instantly filled the air.

"Goku, Gohan is- well he-I-" Krillin started, but got cut off by Vegeta.

"Your son is dead, Kakarot," Vegeta stated bluntly.

Goku felt his breath leave him far to quickly for his liking. Gohan was dead? When? How?

Goku suddenly started laughing hysterically.

Gohan stared at the man and couldn't help but face palm.

"Hahahaha, I'm sorry, Vegeta, but I think I heard you wrong! Did you just say Gohan's dead?!" Goku laughed, convinced that they were pulling a joke on him. He stopped laughing, however, at the grim looks on his friends' faces.

"B-but how? When? Why? I didn't see him in other world," Goku said, his heart clenching at the thought of not seeing his son again

"It probably has something to do with the way he died," Bulma said softly.

"W-what happened?" Goku asked.

"Gohan committed suicide, Kakarot," Vegeta explained.

Goku felt his world start to spin quickly as the words rang through his head. Suicide? But Gohan was so happy! Suicide and Gohan shouldn't even be in the same sentence.

"Why?" Goku whispered, feeling tears well up in his eyes, but tried to hold them back, he had to be strong. How long has it been?

"Because you left and didn't want to come back," Piccolo said.

Goku felt those words stab him through the chest, finally letting his tears fall.

"He was denied his father's love, not to mention that his pathetic excuse for a mother was to busy preparing for another baby to realize what her son was going through! He felt alone! Because in a sense he was. He didn't even get to meet Goten! And you know what, Kakarot? It's all your fault," Vegeta said, venom dripping from every word he spoke.

Vegeta had been bottling up his own emotions, not wanting to admit that he did miss the demi saiyan, even just a little. Vegeta felt some of the weight lift from his shoulders now that someone else had some of the blame pinned on them.

"We can talk this through later, Gohan wouldn't want us to be upset," Piccolo said.

Gohan scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah! Maybe we can gather the dragon balls and wish him back!" Goku said, excitement clear in his voice.

The others smiled at him, it was true, they had completely forgotten about the dragon balls. Together they walked over to the check in station, talking and laughing as if nothing was wrong. Gohan was very angry. How could they just brush off this entire thing like it wasn't a big deal?

Once they were signed in, the fighters were about to separate from the rest, but was wished luck first. Soon they were testing their punches to match the great hero Hercule.

If Gohan felt he wanted to murder someone before, it was quite overwhelming now. He needed to fight, he wanted a good fight, like with Cell.

"I don't understand, where is he?" Trunks asked, catching Goku's attention.

"He should have been here by now," Goten answered.

The two boys were frantically looking around, searching for someone.

"Hey boys, what are you doing?" Goku asked curiously.

"We're looking for our big brother," Trunks stated, still looking around.

Gohan felt some relief wash over him. So, they haven't forgotten about him after all?

"Big brother?" Goku asked.

"Yeah! He's been watching over us since we were kids! He's really cool, he always plays with us and reads to us, too!" Trunks answered excitedly.

"Really?! That's amazing!" Goku said, laughing while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, but mom told us that he isn't real," Goten said, suddenly very sad.

"Why would Chi-Chi do that?" Goku asked while frowning.

"It's probably because she freaked out that one night," Trunks answered.

"What happened?" Goku asked, eyes curious.

"Well, big brother was upset and flew away, so we followed him to make sure he's okay," Goten started.

"Yeah and then he landed by this abandoned place and Goten asked him what it was and brother said that the Cell Games were held there and that he also died there," Trunks continued.

"And then he said that he hated his dad and that it was his fault that brother died and then he started screaming and," Goten said.

"Then he turned into a super saiyan!" They both yelled together in unison.

Goku frowned, quite surprised at the kids' story.

"A super saiyan, huh?" Goku asked.

"Yeah, he's really sad most of the time, but he tries to hide it, I noticed though," Trunks boosted.

"No, you did not!" Goten argued.

"I did, too!" Trunks said back.

Goten huffed, folding his arms and puffed his cheeks, looking away from Trunks. Goten's eyes widened.

"Hey! Big brother! Over here!" He yelled, waving his arm wildly.

Gohan was slightly shocked that Goten saw him again, he seriously thought that no one would ever see him again. Slowly, he started smiling and walked over towards the group.

"Hey!" Trunks laughed, happy that their brother was there.

"Look, big brother! This is my dad!" Goten giggled, pointing at Goku before he started tugging on his father's pant leg.

Gohan glared slightly at Goku, who was glancing around, trying find him.

"I know," Gohan said through gritted teeth, though the little boys didn't notice.

"Hey dad, do you see him?" Goten asked.

"No," Goku said, blinking.

"Hey, brother, touch him!" Trunks said.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Gohan said, not wanting to touch the man.

"Nah, it'll be fine!" Trunks said, grabbing Gohan's hand, he forcefully dragged the boy over to Goku.

The others stood, quite shocked that Trunks wasn't falling over, he was leaning forward quite a bit while he was dragging his imaginary friend.

Goku blinked a couple of times, staring at Trunks who was standing in front of him, still holding onto his big brother, a big smile on his face. Goku smiled and held out his right hand.

"Hi, I'm Goku," he said, not expecting anything to happen.

Goku felt an ice cold hand grip his, but he couldn't see who it was.

"I know who you are," a voice said.

Goku yelped in surprise, not expecting any of this at all.

The others looked on in suprise, this was new.

Goku got a serious expression on his face, still feeling the hand in his.

"So, you know who I am? How do you know me?" Goku asked.

"Let's just say, I'm an old friend," the voice answered. Goku frowned, that voice sounded so familiar.

"An old friend? Do I have to consider you an enemy?" Goku asked.

"Don't hurt the boys," the voice said, taking on a dangerous tone.

Goku was about to answer when he felt a Ki rise drastically. He felt his entire body shake from the power, a power that felt so familiar.

"What is that enormous power!" Goku heard Piccolo yell. So they could feel it to?

"Or you will regret it," the voice seethed, clearly angry.

Goku felt the hand leave his and the powerful Ki disappeared completely.

Goku was quite shocked, not having expected any of this to happen.

He looked at the boys, who were looking quite sheepish, grinning and rubbing the backs of their necks.

"Hehe, he's a bit overprotective," Trunks explained.

Goku wanted to ask something, but got cut off by the announcer who said that the child devision was to fight soon.

Goku felt confused, who was that? Why did that voice sound so familiar? Even that power felt familiar, but who?


	9. Chapter 9

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Goku and his friends stood watching Goten and Trunks fight. Goku wasn't necessarily paying attention, he was to busy pondering that voice and power. It was all so familiar, but he couldn't exactly point out who it was.

"Are we going to talk about the boys' 'imaginary friend?' Because I don't think he's imaginary anymore," Krillin asked, looking at the rest of the group.

"I know, but something doesn't feel right about this," Piccolo said, his frown deepening.

"That power, it felt so," Goku started.

"Familiar," Krillin finished

"What exactly did he say to you, Kakarot?" Vegeta asked.

"He said that he knew me and that I should think of him as an old friend. I asked him if I should consider him an enemy. He told me not to hurt the boys or I'll regret it, then he rose his power level," Goku explained.

Vegeta frowned in thought.

"So we don't have to worry about him being an enemy, just as long as we don't hurt Trunks and Goten?" Krillin asked.

"What I don't understand is why are those two the only ones who can see him?" Eighteen asked from beside Krillin.

"That's a good question," Goku muttered.

"Look I think it would be best not to push this, so no training the boys or anything that could cause them any sort of harm, okay?" Goku said.

"Tell that to your woman, Kakarot," Vegeta said.

"What? Why?" Goku asked, turning to Vegeta and giving him a confused look.

"She slapped Goten the day you told us you were coming back for the tournament," Vegeta said, clearly annoyed by all this.

Goku frowned. First Gohan dies then the boys have an imaginary friend who isn't so imaginary and now Chi-Chi's slapping our son? What is going on and what's next?

"I'll talk to her when there's a break between the child and adult division." Goku said, his attention quickly being pulled away to the boys on the ring when there was a massive explosion. Goten stood there, looking sheepish.

Gohan chuckled from where he stood leaning against the wall near where his father and the others were. He had decided to stay there and watch the boys, he didn't want to stand on the ring and distract them. His gaze went over to Goku. He felt angry just looking at the man, how could he just shrug off his own son's death? Gohan couldn't help but feel forgotten again. He was abandoned even in death. All he ever wanted was his parent's love, to be forgiven for his mistakes, but he didn't get it. Not even in death did he get their love ir forgiveness, they didn't miss him. Not even Piccolo. Gohan sighed sadly, feeling the need to just curl into a ball, scream as loudly as he can, until his throat is raw and then cry until he couldn't anymore.

"Chi-Chi!" Goku called, grabbing her attention along with all the others.

"Goku?" She asked.

"Hey, so the boys told me about their big brother," Goku trailed off.

Chi-Chi sighed loudly, she knew this would come, the boys couldn't help but introduce their brother to everyone they met.

"Oh that again? It's just a faze! He isn't real," Yamcha said, laughing.

"Oh he's real and protective, too," Goku answered.

"What? That's just ridiculous, Goku," Bulma said, placing one of her hands on her hip.

"It's not, woman, Kakarot even had the privilege of meeting him," Vegeta said, annoyance clear in his voice.

"What?!" Yamcha yelled in surprise.

"Yeah and he kind of threatened me. He said that if I hurt the boys, I'll regret it, so I think we should just be careful with how we act around them. This guy's power is enormous, we don't want to push the wrong buttons," Goku explained, glancing a few times at Chi-Chi.

"Daddy! Did you see me? Did you see me?!" Goten yelled, running to his father.

"I sure did! You were great!" Goku exclaimed, picking his son up and starting to tickle him.

Gohan glared at the scene, jealousy coursing through him once again. He growled lightly, clenching his fists.

Piccolo heard the growl with his sensitive hearing. This whole thing was starting to make him nervous.

"Alright! Let's eat, I'm starving!" Goku said.

Gohan scoffed, not noticing that Piccolo heard it as well.

Piccolo looked around, wanting to find out where it came from. He stayed behind when the others walked away. Gohan noticed this and stayed behind with him, wanting to find out what was going on.

"Who's there?" Piccolo asked, his voice lower than usual.

Gohan raised his brows in surprise. Could Piccolo hear him? He decided to test this.

"Someone you used to know," Gohan answered.

"Used to know? Tell me, what's your name?" Piccolo asked.

"That's assuming I have one, right?" Gohan asked.

"Why do you sound so familiar? Who are you?!" Piccolo demanded.

"You know who I am, Piccolo. You just forgot my name," Gohan answered before he walked away, leaving a confused Piccolo behind.

Gohan walked into the area where everyone was sitting and eating. Piccolo was soon to join and sit down.

Gohan glanced around, noticing that the boys weren't there.

He turned to Goku, who was talking with his mouth full. He pulled his face in disgust.

"I could just kill you," Gohan said softly.

Piccolo nearly fell out of his chair, choking on the water he was drinking. Goku stopped eating, looking at his friend in concern. Gohan smirked at his former mentor. He had forgotten briefly that the man could hear him.

"Uh? Are you alright, Piccolo?" Krillin asked.

"I'm fine," Piccolo said through clenched teeth.

"What happened?" Goku asked, but was ignored.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Piccolo asked no one in particular.

"Maybe, maybe not, but it was hilarious," Gohan laughed.

Piccolo stopped, instantly recognising that laugh, it was a laugh he had adored for years and had longed to hear again for so long. But, how was it even possible? It just can't be!

"Big brother, there you are! We need your help!" Trunks yelled as he and Goten came running in.

"What is it boys?" Gohan asked.

"Just c'mon!" Trunks said and pulled him away, explaining their plan as they went.


	10. Chapter 10

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Gohan sighed as he watched the boys knock one of the fighters out to use his costume. They wanted to fight in the adult division so they formulated a plan. Steal someone else's costume so that they couldn't be recognized, pretend to be that fighter and then fight in the adult division. Gohan shook his head, he didn't think this was a good idea, but the boys had to learn from their own mistakes.

"You guys look ridiculous," Gohan said, while one of his eyebrows are lifted.

"Awh, c'mon, brother, this is gonna be fun!" Trunks answered while making his voice deeper than usual.

"Oh man," Gohan said, face palming.

"C'mon, Trunk, let's go," Goten said impatiently.

They started walking, though they were all over the place. Wobbling to the side as Trunks couldn't seem to get his balance right on Goten's shoulders.

"Trunks, sit still," Goten whined.

"Alright, alright!" Trunks said, adjusting himself quickly.

"Okay, let's hurry, it's about to start!" Trunks said, his voice slightly rushed.

Goten took off running, Trunks managed to keep his balance this time and not wobble everywhere.

Gohan stood in the hall from which they came, staring after the two boys in bewilderment. He shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. He just couldn't believe the things those two got themselves into. He then noticed that they were out of sight and ran in the direction they had run off to.

He arrived at the waiting area type place and found the boys standing in a corner, quietly arguing to themselves. He slowly walked over to them, hearing the end of their argument.

"But, Trunks, I want to be on top, why do I have to be on the bottom?" Goten whined once again.

"Because, stupid, if you want to be on top you have to think and act like an adult, can you do that?" Trunks whispered.

"Wow, Trunks, you're really smart!" Goten whisper yelled.

"You guys might not wanna argue like that here," Gohan said quietly.

"Why?" Trunks and Goten asked in unison.

"Mr Piccolo has sensitive ears, he might hear you," Gohan explained.

"Ahh! Oh no, I almost forgot!" Trunks said a little louder than he should have.

The other Z warriors glanced his way briefly before going back to their conversations.

"Plus, you might not want to talk to me in public, you guys are the only ones who can see me, you know,"

Trunks nodded once, a serious look on his face. This caused Gohan to laugh again. Silly boys.

Piccolo smiled a small brief smile from where he stood, leaning against the wall. Those boys, always getting into trouble.

His thoughts were cut off by the announcer, saying they should get up on the stage to draw a number.

Piccolo stared suspiciously at the purple man along with his friend. He couldn't point it out, but something was amiss. After they pulled their numbers, they went back to the waiting room, watching as Krillin beat his opponent.

Piccolo had forfeited his match, he knew now, well he suspected something.

"Tell me, are you the Grand Kai?" Piccolo asked, wanting to know if his suspicions were correct.

"No, sorry," the man said, a strange smirk on his face.

"I'll tell you who he is. He is the Supreme Kai!" Kibito said.

Piccolo let out a shocked gasp mixed with a yell. It couldn't be! He's heard rumours before, but that's exactly what he thought they were, rumours. Why would the Supreme Kai come here though? Kai's usually don't interfere with the natural way of things, so this was a rarity. That would mean that something was going to go seriously wrong, but what? The earth was peaceful, right? Nothing evil had come to endanger the earth's peaceful times since Cell!

"Why is the Supreme Kai here on earth?" Piccolo questioned.

"I cannot say just yet, but I will later," the Kai answered.

"I-I-" Piccolo was at a loss for words.

"Keep this little piece of information to yourself, I don't want the others to know just yet," the Kai spoke in his gentle, kind voice.

Shin walked past Piccolo, followed closely by Kibito.

Piccolo was almost to shocked for words. He shook himself out of it and walked back to the others, resting against a wall as they watched the other people fight. Videl was fighting Spopovich and it was safe to say that the girl wasn't going to win. Piccolo started to contemplate what to do.

They could all be in grave danger. What about Trunks and Goten? They could get into trouble. He had to make a decision and quick. Sighing, he pushed off the wall. He had to do it, though he didn't necessarily want to ruin the boys' fun, but they could get hurt.

"Goku, Vegeta," he called, gaining their attention.

"Mmm?" Goku asked.

"I don't mean to ruin their fun, but you might want to tell your boys that they really shouldn't be here," Piccolo said, gesturing with his head to the fighter who was quietly arguing with himself again.

"Ah! Goten! What are you doing?!" Goku yelled out in surprise.

"Aw man, busted," Trunks said.

The purple haired boy slowly drifted off of Goten's shoulders and pulled off the clothing he was wearing that didn't belong to him.

"I'm sorry, daddy, we just wanted to have some fun," Goten said with a guilty look on his face.

"This is dangerous kid, I suggest both of you go to your mothers and go home," Piccolo said.

"What? Why?" Goku asked.

The other Z warriors looked at them, their attention gained by what Piccolo was saying.

"Something bad is coming, I can feel it," Piccolo explained.

Goku stared at the green man, face serious. He knew not to doubt Piccolo, the man was nearly always right in his suspicions.

"Trunks, Goten, I need you to hurry and go to you mothers, bring them here so that we can explain, got it?" Goku instructed. The two boys nodded, noticing the serious situation and ran off.

"I trust you on this, Piccolo," Goku said.

"What could possibly go wrong, though?" Krillin asked.

"A powerful wizard named Babidi," Shin answered, walking over to the group.

"Why should we trust you?" Vegeta asked menacingly.

"Have a little more respect, that's the Supreme Kai!" Piccolo yelled.

Shocked gasps went throughout the room.

"The Supreme Kai?" Krillin asked.

"Spopovich and Yamu are working for Babidi. They need a large amount of pure energy to awaken the monster that will destroy the entire universe," Shin explained.

"Who is this monster and how do you know about this?" Goku asked.

"His name is Majin Buu and I know this because I have witnessed it happen before. Years ago Babidi's father Bibidi created Buu. With it came the destruction of many planets, however, Buu was too strong to control for very long, so Bibidi created a ball in which he would seal Buu and send him to other planets. Once there, his minions would retrieve large amounts of pure energy to awaken Buu. Buu was sent here to destroy the earth next, but Bibidi was killed before that could happen. We didn't go searching for the ball because we believed that Bibidi was the only one who could awaken Buu," Shin explained.

"We were wrong, though. Bibidi's son could awaken him as well, but we don't know where the ball is," Kibito said.

"So he needs pure energy to awaken Buu?" Goku asked.

"Yes and large amounts. It would be perfect if we could get Gohan to help," Shin said.

A tense silence filled the air.

Shin was confused, what is going on?

"Hate to break it to you, Supreme Kai, but Gohan's dead," Vegeta said.

Shin looked shocked. But how? When?! Had he been so busy searching for that ball that he didn't notice the earth's greatest hero was dead? But that's not right. Gohan was standing right there!

"B-but-" Shin stammered.

"Dad! We're back!" Goten yelled.

"Goku what's wrong?!" Chi-Chi exclaimed.

"Chi-Chi! Look I don't have much time to explain! You need to leave and get somewhere safe! There's something coming and-" Goku was cut off by the crowd screaming and a loud explosion.

"B-but how?" Shin exclaimed before running out onto the ring.

The Z warriors followed along with the women.

"Ahh!" Goku yelled out in shock.

There in the middle of the ring stood a large pink man with a little green creature next to it. An entire side of the stadium was gone, smoke still emitting from where the blast had exploded against the wall. It was where Chi-Chi and the others were sitting.

"Greetings! We're here to destroy you!" The little green creature laughed hysterically.

"Who is that?!" Goku yelled.

"That's Babidi and," Shin said, fear shining brightly in his eyes.

"Majin Buu,"


	11. Chapter 11

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Babidi stood next to Buu laughing maniacally. This was perfect! He'd caught the Supreme Kai off guard.

"Buu destroy them!" Bobidi yelled, pointing at the group of fighters.

"Oh no you don't, you're going to jail!" Videl yelled.

Though she could barely stand, she took on her fighting stance, wanting to protect these people who were screaming and running for dear life.

Gohan stood behind his friends, watching the entire scenario play out. So this was Buu, huh?

"No!" Goku yelled as Buu charged at Videl. The poor girl couldn't react fast enough as Buu's fist landed in her stomach. The force was enough to make Videl fold over his fist. She went flying backwards and into Goku who was trying to catch her. The force of which her body had been repelled backwards made Goku skid backwards on his feet before he planted them firmly, stopping a few inches away from the wall.

Babidi continued to laugh, finding the entire situation quite hilarious.

"Are you alright?" Goku asked the girl who was laying in his arms.

Videl let out pained noises, but managed to nod through the pain, blood dripping from her mouth and down her chin.

Goku placed her on the floor gently and stood, glaring viciously at Buu who was dancing in circles around Bobidi, jumping from one foot to another.

"You monster!" Goku yelled, growling through his teeth. Goku spread his legs apart, crouching down a bit, his fists at his side as he started screaming. The dramatic rise of his power and the wind that was whipping around them caught Buu's attention.

"Mmm?" Buu tilted his head, looking Goku over before laughing in a childish manner. The Z warriors were all on guard, watching and calculating the situation.

Once Goku had stopped powering up, he charged at Buu, ramming his fist in the pink monster's round belly. His fist was bounced back. Goku made a sound of surprise before continuing, throwing numerous punches and kicks at Buu who hardly blocked them at all. As they were fighting they slowly lifted into the air a few feet above the stadium ring. Gohan stood behind Trunks and Goten, watching as his father fought. Gohan was on his guard though he knew that Buu wouldn't attack him seeing as he is dead. He stood on guard in case he needed to protect the boys or his mother and Bulma. He knew that when it came down to it, he would do everything in his power to save them. Perhaps his secret training would pay off?

"Ahh!" Goku yelled out as he was sent plummeting back towards the ring. Buu had managed a hard kick to his side and caught him off guard by folding his hands and hitting him hard atop his head.

"Kakarot!" Vegeta yelled out, running towards his fallen comrade.

"I'll take over," Vegeta said once he reached Goku and knelt down.

"Sure, go for it," Goku said, panting as he slowly sat up.

Buu landed a few feet away from them, moving his arm to try and loosen the stiff muscles.

Vegeta was instantly on his guard, quickly falling into a fighting stance. Buu ignored Vegeta and ran his gaze over the group in front of him about twice. His gaze finally came to a stop on the two children. Trunks and Goten instantly took a fighting stance, though nervous at seeing how easily Buu had defeated Goku.

"Trunks, I'm scared," Goten said, though keeping up a tough front, Goten couldn't stop the need to cry from washing over him.

"I know!" Trunks said, shaking slightly from the overwhelming power coming off of Buu.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," Gohan said from behind them. Those words alone were enough to calm the two children momentarily.

"Buu fight boy, boy look strong!" Buu said, slightly stretching his last word.

Buu jumped and flew at them, fist ready to attack as he flew past Vegeta.

"No!" Vegeta screamed.

"Dodge!" Goku yelled getting to his feet as he and Vegeta raced after Buu to try and stop him.

"We're not going to make it!" Goku yelled in despair.

Goku knew the boys would die if they didn't stop Buu before he reached the children. He felt the power surging from the monstrosity and knew, though brave, they just weren't strong enough!

Goten yelped as Buu came flying to them, his knees shaking, tears pricking at his eyes. He knew he was showing weakness, but he couldn't help it. He was just a child after all! The two children tried to brace themselves. Doubt started to cross their minds. Are they going to be able to fight Buu? Would they survive this battle? Can their big brother truly protect them?

"No!" Chi-Chi wailed, running for her son to try and move him out of the way.

"Chi-Chi!" Bulma screamed, reaching out to grab her friend and stop her. Bulma's fingers just barely grazed the fabric of Chi-Chi's dress.

"Goten, no!" Goku screamed, he couldn't bare the thought of losing yet another son.

"Get out of the way, kids!" Piccolo yelled as he and Krillin charged for the two boys.

Fear was rolling off of the two boys. They might be brave, but the power surging from Buu was frightening, and the way everyone was screaming, telling them to dodge and rushing for them was just adding to their anxiety, making them freeze up, not being able to dodge or move.

The boys felt warmth coming from behind them and the feeling of pure energy rolling over them, it calmed their rapidly beating hearts, calming their souls.

"After all," Gohan continued as he powered up.

"I did make a promise," Gohan said as he rushed forward from between the two boys.

Gohan met Buu halfway, their fists slamming together and causing a massive shockwave to roll over the entire stadium, knocking the warriors, who were rushing over to Trunks and Goten, back a few feet. They had to cover their eyes as dust and rubble flew around wildly before finally settling down. Once the rubble was gone the warriors turned, staring at the scene before them in shock.

Buu's fist was stopped by another, a golden aura whipping around the boy's entire body.

"I've said this before and I'll say it again," the boy started, voice and energy familiar.

"Don't hurt the boys," the boy continued, his hair golden and standing on end, eyes a furious blue-green.

"Or you'll regret it," the voice took on a familiar angry tone.

The reason why his voice, energy and, to Piccolo, his laugh, was familiar, is because they knew him. A person who had died long ago, a name that was forbidden from being spoken.

"Gohan,"


	12. Chapter 12

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

"Gohan," Goku said, disbelief clearly shown on his face and tone of voice.

"Big brother! Kick his butt!" Trunks yelled, encouraging the teen.

"Yeah!" Goten laughed.

Gohan and Buu pulled away from each other, flying backwards a few feet to gain some distance between each other.

"That's your big brother?" Bulma asked, shocked.

"Yeah!" Trunks and Goten cheered.

"Buu fight boy, boy look strong!" Buu repeated.

"So, you were originally going to attack me?" Gohan asked, slightly shocked that Buu could have seen him without him wanting the creature to.

"Yup yup!" Buu answered, smiling widely.

"Buu! Stop wasting time and kill him you idiot!" Babidi yelled.

Gohan stared at the small man for a few moments before descending and landing on the ring standing in front of Goku and Vegeta who had also landed.

Shin stared with a smile on his face. He had figured that Gohan would protect the two boys should they be in danger. The warriors moved onto the ring, standing around Gohan, feeling the need to ask questions, but knew it wasn't the time. Buu landed next to Babidi, frowning slightly as the green man continued to yell at him.

Gohan fazed out and stood behind the two enemy's. Gohan raised his right hand, forming a small, but powerful Ki blast in his hand.

"You're annoying me," Gohan said, voice cold and void of all emotion.

"What?! Who do you think you are?! I am-" Babidi started to yell, but was cut off when Gohan let go of the ki blast.

Babidi screamed as the blast hit him, exploding and killing him instantly, reducing him to dust.

The Z warriors stood staring at Gohan in utter shock.

A sinister smile broke out on Gohan's face as he stared at the other's shocked faces. Trunks and Goten were oblivious to the entire situation and kept on cheering on their big brother.

"Let's end this quickly," Gohan said as he cupped his hands and moved his arms to his side gathering energy there.

"Ka..me..ha..me...HA" Gohan yelled and threw his hands forward, releasing a massive amount of energy from his hands. The Z warriors barely made it out of the way when Gohan shot the kamehameha.

The blast hit Buu full force, tearing him apart and blowing most of him into dust.

When the blast gave way, there was almost nothing left of Buu. Slowly, parts of him that weren't destroyed came together, forming a giant misshapen ball as he started forming again. Shocked, Goku made rash decision.

"Grab onto me!" He yelled, placing his pointer and middle finger to his forehead. Everyone grabbed on, but Gohan stayed where he was, preparing to fight to the end.

"Gohan!" Goku yelled, eyes begging his eldest son to obey and come with him.

"No," Gohan answered shortly, glaring furiously at his father.

"Big brother, please!" Goten begged, eyes full of unshed tears.

Gohan stared at the two children, wanting to refuse.

"If you're staying, then I will, too!" Trunks yelled, letting go of Goku.

"Trunks!" Bulma yelled, reaching for the boy, but was stopped by Vegeta.

Vegeta knew, if anyone was to get through to Gohan now, it was the boys.

"Yeah! I'm staying, too!" Goten yelled, managing to wriggle out of his mother's tight grasp.

"Gohan, please," Chi-Chi begged, shaking at the cold look Gohan gave her.

"C'mon, brother," Goten said, reaching out his smaller hand towards the teenager.

Gohan looked up at Buu who was nearly completely reformed. Sighing loudly, he took Goten's hand. Goten grinned and used his other hand to grab onto Goku's leg as Trunks did the same. Goku quickly focused and searched, his face brightening slightly when he found what he was looking for. Just as Buu reappeared, they disappeared.

Dende nearly fell over when the large group suddenly appeared in front of him. He hadn't expected them at all.

"Huh? Where are we?" Goten asked cheerfully as he let go of Goku and Gohan.

"G-Gohan?" Dende asked, shock clearly written all over his face.

"Dende," Gohan said coldly.

Dende stared at Gohan as the boy let go of his aura, though his hair was a light blonde and his eyes a nice soft blue. Gohan's face still held no emotion, his eyes cold as he looked the others over.

"Gohan! My baby!" Chi-Chi wailed as she practically jumped on the boy, hugging him tightly. Goten and Trunks stared, confused.

"Why is mom hugging our big brother, dad?" Goten asked, looking up at Goku.

Goku couldn't answer, he was just so confused. He had so many questions, so many different emotions running through him. Gohan didn't react when his mother hugged him, he didn't hug her back. At that exact moment, he wanted to disappear again.

"Gohan?" Chi-Chi asked as she pulled away, staring up at the face of her eldest son. He hadn't changed at all.

"How could you?" Chi-Chi asked, her voice taking on an angry tone.

"How could you just leave me like that?! Didn't you even care how I would feel?! You left your brother without even letting him know you! You left all of us just like that? And in such a disrespectful manner?! Laying in a pool of you own blood, Gohan, I had to clean that! Clean up my own son's blood from wounds he inflicted on himself! How could you, I will never forgive you!" Chi-Chi yelled.

Gohan stared at her, hurt briefly flashing in his eyes. How could he? HOW COULD HE? This was partially her fault!

"I don't need nor do I want your forgiveness mother," Gohan said coldly, brushing her off and walking to the edge of the lookout. He was tempted to fly away and fight Buu again, but he knew that either the boys or his father would follow him and he didn't want them to get in his way.

"Gohan," Goku said softly but sternly.

Gohan felt his rage bubble in his chest again. He didn't want anything to do with this man.

"Gohan you didn't need to be so cold with your mother, she's just upset and worried. I mean, you did leave her," Goku said, hoping to come through to the boy.

Gohan's Ki spiked, though the others didn't notice, they were still to shocked about the entire situation, well except for the boys.

"Uh oh," Trunks said.

"Daddy, no!" Goten yelled.

Gohan turned abruptly, pulling his fist back, rage taking over his body as he slammed his fist into his father's stomach, knocking the wind out of Goku. Gohan pulled back and spinned, ramming his foot into his father's face, causing Goku to go flying, skidding to a halt in the middle of the group.

Gohan walked over to the fallen hero, seething as he felt an overwhelming feeling to just kill the man. Goku propped himself up on his elbows, fear shining in his eyes as he stared at his son. This wasn't the same innocent, sweet little boy he remembers.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi yelled, jumping in between Gohan and his father, a few feet before he reached the man. Gohan raised his arm, prepared to slap the woman out of his way, but was stopped.

"Big brother, stop! What are you doing?!" Goten asked, standing just a few inches away from Goku. Gohan could see him clearly. Tears were slowly falling from the little boy's eyes as he shook, suddenly frightened by the teenager he had come to know as his big brother. Gohan's face softened, replaced by a look of guilt.

He lowered his hand, glanced around briefly, noticing the scared and shocked looks nearly everyone wore.

"I-I-" Gohan stuttered, backing away from his mother. Gohan stared at his shaking hands in disbelief. What is he doing, what has gotten into him?! He nearly struck his own mother! He was so blinded by rage that he nearly hurt someone he loved. He-he was a monster.

"W-what have I done?" He whispered.

"Gohan," Goku said as he slowly stood up. Gohan looked up quickly, his emotions clearly shown in his eyes. All his pain, hurt, confusion and anger.

"This is all your fault," Gohan said, his face hardening again with hatred and anger. It didn't last long, though. His face quickly softened again.

"I-I can't," he said, backing up.

"Gohan, please," Goku said, reaching out to his son. Gohan glanced up, shaking his head. His hair and eyes fell back to their normal black colour and he disappeared.

"Gohan!"


	13. Chapter 13

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

"Gohan!" Goku yelled, his voice pleading with his son to come back.

Chi-Chi stood, staring at the spot where her son was just mere seconds ago.

"Gohan, please!" Goku yelled before falling to his hands and knees, his shoulders shaking from the weight of the entire ordeal. All he wanted, was to just hug his son, apologise a million times over, he'd do it, if it meant he could hold his son again in his arms, he'd do the impossible. Just for Gohan. Vegeta frowned at Goku, anger quickly washing over him, so much so to the point where he couldn't stop his actions.

"Damn it! Damn it all to hell, Kakarot!" Vegeta screamed, his energy bursting around him as he rushed for the fallen saiyan, kicking him viciously in his stomach.

Goku let out a choked gasp as spit left his mouth, he felt his body lift off the ground because of Vegeta's attack. A kick to his side had him flying, skidding to a stop a few feet from the edge of the lookout. Vegeta practically pounced on him, repeatedly punching him in the face, all the while screaming at him.

"This is all your fault! If you haven't left, Gohan would still be alive! Not only that, but how long did it take you to notice that he's gone?! It's been nearly eight years and I've been carrying what should have been your guilt! You ruined it! You ruined everyone's chance at apologising to him! YOU RUINED MY CHANCE!" Vegeta screamed, before falling backwards, breathing heavily as he glared at Goku.

The others felt shocked, not having expected Vegeta of all people to feel so guilty.

Bulma felt saddened by this, hiding one's emotions is what brought them into this mess.

"I didn't realize you felt that way, Vegeta," Goku said as he sat up.

"I promise, I didn't mean for any of this to happen! Had I known what would happen if I didn't come back, I would have come back. Vegeta, if I could turn back time, I would! This breaks my heart, seeing my own son this way. And don't worry, my friend. I'm here now, I'm here to carry my own guilt, you don't need to carry it anymore," Goku said, tears slowly forming in his eyes.

Vegeta sighed, standing up and holding a hand out for Goku, pulling the man to his feet when he took it.

They stared at each other for a long while.

"Mom?" Goten asked, tugging on the woman's dress.

"Yes, Goten?" Chi-Chi asked, looking down at her son.

"Why did you hug our big brother like you knew him?" Goten asked.

Chi-Chi looked away, before glancing at Goku and Vegeta.

"Goku!" Chi-Chi yelled, gaining the two saiyan's attention.

"Chi-Chi?" Goku asked.

"I need you to take me to Capsule Corporation," Chi-Chi demanded.

"What? Why?" Goku asked.

"Because," Chi-Chi explained simply.

Goku shrugged, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll be right back," Goku said before they disappeared.

They appeared inside Capsule Corporation, Chi-Chi immediately marched straight for her room, Goku following closely behind.

"Uh, Chi-Chi? Why are we here?" Goku asked as the woman slammed her bedroom door open and marched inside. She knew that to defeat Buu, they would need both Goku and Goten, but she knew, Gohan was critical in this fight as well and that they would need him most of all. But, if things continued on like this, they would all die and never sort out this mess. She went to her bookcase, completely ignoring Goku's question, before grabbing the photo album and marching right back out of her room and into Goten's. Once there, she grabbed the teddy bear she gave Goten earlier that day.

"Let's go," Chi-Chi said, turning to Goku. Goku nodded slowly, placing a hand on her shoulder again before they disappeared.

"They're back! Where'd you go?" Goten asked.

"Goten sweetie, do you remember what I told you this morning," Chi-Chi asked as she sat on her legs in front of Goten, handing him the teddy bear. Goten sat down, cross legged, holding the bear in his hands, staring at it's fluffy face. The others stood around them, wanting to know where this was going.

"You mean about the special boy? My brother who died because daddy accidentally took his heart, making him sad. He died because he was sad, right, mommy?" Goten asked, eyes wide.

"That's right sweetie, remember I promised you I'd show you pictures?" She said.

Goku felt his heart squeeze at the way Chi-Chi had used to explain what had really happened.

"You're gonna show me now?!" Goten asked, eyes even wider from excitement.

Chi-Chi pulled the photo album from behind her, placing it in front of the boy, before opening it, revealing a photo of a peacefully sleeping baby. Trunks moved and sat next to Goten, interested in what was happening. The Z warriors stepped closer, watching as Chi-Chi flipped the pages, explaining the photos to Goten and Trunks. The two boys gasped when they reached the very last photo of the book. Gohan, smiling brightly at the camera with Goku at his side, his own bright smile on his face.

"This is the last photo we have of your brother, Gohan, it was taken on his twelfth birthday, a few days before the Cell Games," Chi-Chi explained.

Bulma felt tears come to her eyes, she can remember the last time she saw the boy smile that brightly. It was before the Cell Games, she realised, right before he went into the hyperbolic time chamber with his father. After the games, she realized, all the smiles he did show, were fake.

"Do you remember what you said that night, Goten, when you and Trunks flew after your big brother?" Chi-Chi asked.

The two boys stared at her, not sure if they should answer or not.

"You said that he was sad and that your daddy's voice made him sad, because it reminded him of his own dad's voice, that it made him remember that he was forgotten," Chi-Chi reminded.

"It's true, your big brother, the person we thought was your imaginary friend, is, in fact, Gohan, your real big brother. The special boy, and he's right to be angry at us, because truth be told, we didn't forget about him, we jist didn't want to remember the sadness of his last few months here alive. He has a right to be angry, because we all moved on, forgetting to help him when he needed us most, we left him behind while we moved on," Chi-Chi said, her eyes burning with unshed tears.

Trunks stared at her in bewilderment. They didn't know, they didn't realize it, but Trunks did.

"Ah!" Trunks yelped as he fell over. The others jumped, not having expected that reaction at all. Goten looked at his friend weirdly, wondering what was wrong with him.

"We're screwed!" Trunks yelled as he jumped to his feet. Bulma was to shocked to scold Trunks for his language.

"Why?" Goten asked, confusion clearly shown on his face.

"If Gohan, our big brother, really is your real brother, and your dad his real dad, then he technically blames your dad for his death! He even said that he hated him and that he blames him that exact night!" Trunks yelled, jogging on the spot from nerves.

Goten looked confused for a few more seconds before realization flashed on his face.

"Oh no! We have to find him! We have to change his mind!" Goten yelled as he frantically scrambled to his feet.

"Everyone needs to find him, like now!" Trunks ordered before he and Goten took off, running in a direction, desperately searching for Gohan.

They needed to change his mind, tell him that it wasn't Goku's fault and that everything would be okay if he just let go of the past and forgive everyone. Though, it wasn't exactly an easy thing to ask a teenager who was practically abandoned by his family and friends, forced to deal with his own guilt and the death of his father, which he was blaming himself for. But as Vegeta had thought, the only people to get through to Gohan now, was the boys, right?


	14. Chapter 14

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Gohan was sitting on the roof of the lookout palace, watching the events unfold. He was slightly shocked by what Vegeta had said, though he could tell the saiyan prince was torn by his guilt. Guilt that shouldn't even have been his. Gohan hadn't meant for any of this to happen, he didn't want his death to break his prince. Nor did he want to hurt anyone else, he just wanted peace. He just wanted to go to a peaceful place where he didn't have to feel so guilty, or the hateful stares from his friends and mother. He just wanted all the pain to stop and leave him alone, but instead of that happening, he felt even worse. He watched as his mother paged through the photo album, explaining the pictures to his little brother. They were all searching for him now and he didn't know whether he wanted them to or not.

"How are we supposed to find Gohan when we can't even see him?" Piccolo asked, he was still standing at the front of the lookout with Vegeta, Dende and Mr Popo. The others had split up to try and find the broken teen.

"I can try sensing for him," Dende said softly and started to concentrate.

Gohan pulled his knees up to his chest as he felt his heart clench and tears run down his rosy cheeks. He rested his head on his knees and hugged his legs with his arms. Gohan felt his shoulders begin to shake as he gave up. He didn't care anymore as he let out heart breaking sobs, trying to cry his pain away.

Dende and Piccolo turned at the sound of his cries, trying to pin point where it was coming from.

Vegeta gave them strange looks as the two Namekian's looked around, searching for the location from which the cries are coming from.

Chi-Chi, Bulma, Krillin, Eighteen and Marron walked over towards them, noticing the Namekian's were looking around rather frantically. Marron looked up, seeing Gohan sitting there, shaking. She tugged on her mother's pant leg, gaining her attention.

"Momma, the boy is over there," she said, pointing to where Gohan sat on the roof. The others looked up, not being able to see the teen. Vegeta started floating up towards Gohan.

"Be careful, Vegeta!" Piccolo yelled after him.

Vegeta nodded and flew to where Marron had pointed, landing softly. He concentrated, faintly, he could hear the boy's cries.

"Gohan?" Vegeta asked, voice soft for the prince.

Gohan looked up, not having expected Vegeta to have come. He expected it to be Piccolo or maybe even Krillin.

Vegeta sat down, propping one leg up and resting one of his arms on there as he leaned back on his other hand. He was sitting a lot closer than Vegeta usually would, their arms touching, but Vegeta doesn't know, because he can't see the teen. Vegeta sat in silence not knowing what to say or do.

Gohan stared at Vegeta, tears still running down his cheeks before he whiped them off, his cheeks and eyes red. Gohan took a deep breath before he made himself visible for Vegeta as well. He had discovered that he could make himself visible to anyone he wished, but not for long unless he turned into a super saiyan, then he could hold his form for as long as he wanted, a plus was that he could feel then.

"Vegeta," Gohan said softly.

Vegeta nearly fell over, though didn't show it as he hadn't expected the boy to show himself.

Vegeta nodded at Gohan, staring off into the distance.

It was silent for a long while until Gohan decided to ask his prince something.

"Is that really how you feel?" Gohan asked quietly.

Vegeta stared at him, slightly confused until he registered what the boy meant.

"Someone had to carry Kakarot's guilt," Vegeta said.

"No, no one had to carry his guilt, because there wasn't any guilt to carry," Gohan said, voice slightly louder.

"While Kakarot was gone, I had to fill that father figure for him, it's the way of the saiyan's. When you died, Kakarot would have felt guilty that he hadn't noticed what was going on sooner. But, Kakarot wasn't here, so I had to carry the guilt of not noticing," Vegeta explained, though not being very fond with talking about his feelings.

"I didn't want this. I didn't want anyone to feel guilty, because it's all my fault, I killed dad, it's my fault that everyone hates me," Gohan said, a frown forming on his face.

"Hate you?" Vegeta asked.

"I could see it, every time anyone looked at me, they were blaming me, hating me," Gohan said, his voice cracking slightly at remembering all those hateful glares.

"What?" Vegeta couldn't keep the surprise from his voice. Gohan looked at Vegeta, eyes wide at the surprised look on the prince's face.

"No one hated you and no one even considered blaming you, boy. You were the only one blaming yourself for something that Kakarot decided," Vegeta explained.

Gohan opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off.

"There you are!" Trunks yelled, grinning when the two saiyan's turned to him.

Goku stood there where Dende, Popo, Piccolo and Vegeta had. The other warriors walked and stood, staring at Vegeta who looked to be having a conversation with himself.

Vegeta looked back at Gohan, who turned to him.

"It'll be alright, boy," Vegeta reassured before standing and flying down from the roof, landing slightly behind Bulma.

"Come on, big brother, we need to talk to you!" Trunks yelled, trying to get the teenager to come down.

Gohan took a deep breath and jumped down, landing gracefully on the floor in front of Trunks and Goten. The two children stared at Gohan for a minute. Vegeta could still see the boy as Piccolo and Dende listened with their sensitive hearing, curious as to where this was going to go.

"I-I need to ask you something, okay?" Goten asked, not liking the emotionless look on his brother's face.

"Alright," Gohan answered.

"Are you Gohan?" Goten asked nervously. It was silent for a long while. The adults that couldn't hear or see Gohan, thought that Gohan was possibly explaining things to Goten, it sure did look like Goten was listening intently, though he was actually waiting for the older to reply.

"I am," Gohan finally answered, though his voice was cold.

"Then you're my real big brother, right?" Goten asked.

Gohan nodded slowly wondering where this was going.

"And you have the same mommy and daddy as me?" Goten asked again, hope shining in his eyes.

"I do," Gohan said, feeling the need to be cautious.

"Then you don't hate daddy anymore, right?" Goten asked.

It was silent for a long while before Gohan burst out laughing. Though it wasn't a happy laugh. Piccolo winced at the coldness coming from his former student.

"He left me, of course I still hate him," Gohan said coldly.

"B-but he's our daddy! I won't let you hurt him!" Goten yelled, instantly taking on a fighting stance as Trunks followed him.

Gohan stared at them, a look of hurt on his face. So this is how it's going to be? He felt utterly betrayed.

"You're going to defend the man who's responsible for my death?" Gohan asked.

"It's not his fault, brother!" Goten replied, hoping that this would help get through to his brother.

"He left me! He didn't want to stay with me!" Gohan yelled, his betrayal and hurt making way to his voice.

"Neither did you! You left me too, Gohan!" Goten yelled, getting angry.

It was silent, Gohan winced at the fact that Goten had called him by his real name.

"He hurt me," Gohan whispered, hands grabbing his hair tightly.

"Gohan, please-" Goten started.

"Don't call me that! I'm not Gohan anymore! I'm no one now, you betrayed me! I was there for you AND Trunks from the very beginning! But now that your so called father arrived, I'm nothing to you?! Just dirt at the bottom of your shoe? You don't know the things he's forced me to do! I didn't want this! He'll leave, Goten, just like he left me! And when he's gone, who's going to look after you then? You'll come running back to me, like nothing ever happened, like you never betrayed me! How do you think that makes me feel?!" Gohan screamed.

Goten felt his tears falling down his cheeks at his brother's words. The words didn't hurt him, but more the fact that Gohan thinks he's betraying him. He didn't want to hurt his brother, he just wanted them to be a family.

"IT MAKES ME ABSOLUTELY LIVID!" Gohan screamed, finishing his sentence as he started screaming. Piccolo and Dende had to cover their ears because of the volume of Gohan's screaming. Vegeta ran forward, grabbing Trunks and Goten to get away from the angry teenager. He stood in front of them, falling into a fighting stance. The others didn't know what was going on, but seeing Vegeta ready to fight, made the other fighters fall into their own fighting stances. Tien wasn't sure what to expect. He and Chiaotzu had arrived at the lookout when they had felt Buu, but didn't know about Gohan until Yamcha told them.

"Gohan!" Piccolo yelled as the lookout began to shake. The boy became visible to everyone else who couldn't see him before. His Ki was raising rapidly, causing the wind to grow stronger and shockwaves to come from him. He was turning into a super saiyan. Goku took the opportunity to power up himself along with Vegeta and Piccolo. Though, Goku didn't think they would stand a chance against his emotionally unstable son.

"Gohan, sweetie, please!" Chi-Chi begged, but Gohan didn't listen. The betrayal he felt was overwhelming. He took care of those kids and now they were just throwing him away. Like a used up toy. Once Gohan stopped powering up, he glared angrily at his friends and family.

It was silent for a moment, being broken by Goten's whimpers. He was scared of his own brother. The boy who stood up to Buu for him, protected him and played with him. Now that same person was his enemy. Goten began to cry, feeling the same fear he had when Buu came charging at them. The difference now, though, is that he didn't have his big brother to protect him.

"Gohan, please, I'm sorry I left you! We can talk this through, son," Goku said, hoping to calm the boy down.

"No," was all Gohan said, his voice even colder than before.

"My baby!" Chi-Chi wailed before running at Gohan, wanting all this fighting in her family to stop. Just before she reached him, Gohan raised his arm and brought it down, slapping the woman away from him. Chi-Chi skidded to a stop a few feet away, a cut on her cheek from where Gohan had struck her.

"Chi-Chi!" Goku yelled, staring in disbelief at his son.

"Mommy!" Goten yelled, running from behind Vegeta and towards his mother, standing in front of her, arms raised in an attempt to protect her.

Gohan raised his arm again, forming a Ki ball in his hand, much like he did against Babidi.

"Gohan, no! Your not thinking straight!" Shin yelled.

How could this happen? The boy used to be so sweet and innocent, now he was aiming a powerful Ki blast at his own mother and brother. Gohan looked at him with his cold gaze, not really recognising any of the people there. His emotions were in control at that moment. He felt so lost, betrayed, angry and so much sadness, he just couldn't handle the emotional strain anymore.

"Gohan! Don't do it!" Krillin yelled, but it was to late. Gohan shot the blast, smiling sadistically as it exploded. Two down, eighteen more to go.


	15. Chapter 15

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Smoke filled the air as the rubble settled down, revealing that Goku had jumped in front of Goten and Chi-Chi and took the hit instead. Goku knew something wasn't right. Gohan would never hurt his mother. The boy never even raised his voice at anyone before. Goku panted, he was quite seriously injured. Gohan, what have you become? Thought Goku as he stared at his son who was glaring furiously at him. Goku stood up, facing this person he didn't recognize to be his son.

"What is wrong with you?! You could have killed them!" Goku yelled.

"That's what I was aiming for," Gohan answered as he raised his hand again, forming another Ki ball. Goku was shocked, he was trying to kill them? Why?! Gohan's eyes came to rest on Krillin, Eighteen and Marron. A smirk formed on his lips as he took aim.

"Gohan, stop!" Trunks yelled, gaining the teenager's attention. Vegeta tensed up, wondering if they were all going to die.

"What are you doing? Look, your scaring Goten!" Trunks yelled, pointing to where Goten was hugging his mother, shaking like the scared little boy that he is. Goku standing protectively in front of them, panting and bleeding heavily.

Gohan stared at the three, his face softening a little. His Ki wavered slightly. Everyone saw this and Bulma quietly encouraged Trunks to continue talking to the teen.

Trunks stepped out from behind his father, Gohan's attention on him again.

"We can go back to the way it was! Just you, me and Goten!" Trunks said, hoping that Gohan would listen to him. Gohan's Ki wavered again.

"Goten didn't mean to betray you! He was just trying to help, you know how he is," Trunks said, walking closer to Gohan.

"I don't want to loose you, big brother," Trunks said, tears forming in his eyes at the though of losing Gohan.

"Y-You don't?" Gohan asked, unsure whether or not to trust the boy.

"No! Remember all those fun times, playing hide and seek and other games? The time we scared mom and aunt Chi-Chi by putting that sheet over you and when they pulled it off, no one was under there?" Trunks said, smiling brightly at the memory.

"That was funny," Gohan said, a soft smile on his face as he began lowering his arm.

"Gohan," Goku said, taking a step forward. Gohan instantly tensed and aimed the wavering Ki ball at his father. Gohan took a deep breath before steadying the ball.

Goku raised his hands, showing his palms to his son, a soft look on his face. He knew that if they didn't get through to the boy now, they were all going to die.

"Listen to me son, I'm sorry this happened, I shouldn't have left you like that," Goku began, but was cut off.

"I don't want to hear it," Gohan said, eyes warning the man not to talk.

"Gohan, please," Chi-Chi begged, still clutching onto Goten.

"No, I've had it! Enough is enough! How dare you beg me to listen to this man! I used to look up to you, father, but now, I hate you. You left me," Gohan said, tears slowly starting to well up in his eyes.

"I know, Gohan and I'm-"

"You're not listening to me. You left me, you left me to be taken by Piccolo. A four year old was forced to grow up before his time! I had a father for four years and then he died. All that every really mattered to you was your precious training, eating and sleeping. What about us?! Time and time again, you'd rather be out there, training rather then spending time with you own family! You left us and I have had enough! I won't let you hurt Goten, so I'm going to make sure you never come back again," Gohan said. Goku was shocked, he's been feeling like this for so long and Goku never noticed it. No one did.

Krillin had had enough of this, he couldn't stand this anymore. He had to protect his friends and family, no one was going to get through to the boy now. It pained him to do this, but he knew that if he didn't do something now, they could all possibly die! Krillin ran behind Gohan and formed Ki in his hand, forcing it into a disc like form.

"Destructo Disc!" He yelled before he threw it.

Gohan turned around at the sound of Krillin yelling and felt extreme pain in his arm and chest. As Gohan had turned, the disc had sliced into his arm and then rolled onto his chest where it cut deeply. Gohan regretted letting everyone see him. The price of that being he could feel the pain. Gohan screamed in pain before collapsing to his knees, clutching the wound on his chest. It could have been worse, Krillin's disc like Ki could have cut him in half.

Gohan clutched at the wound, staring wide eyed at the floor beneath him as he started to moan in pain, his super saiyan form wavering.

"Uh, Gohan!" Piccolo yelled, running and crouching down next to the boy.

"Here let me-" Piccolo started, touching Gohan's arm, but his hand was slapped away by the teen. Gohan glared at his previous mentor, he didn't want the Namekian's help. Gohan slowly stood up, trying to calm his breathing as he felt his anger double. He slowly turned to Krillin, staring furiously at the short male.

"Krillin! Why did you do that!" Goku yelled, sensing Gohan's anger.

"I-" Krillin was cut off by Gohan, who was rushing towards him, an angry scowl on his face.

"Krillin!" Eighteen yelled, covering Marron's eyes as the poor child started crying.

Krillin stood frozen, not believing that Gohan was going to attack him. Goku used his instant transmission to block Krillin from Gohan. The teenager stopped abruptly, glaring at his father.

"Please Gohan, stop! You don't have to attack Krillin!" Goku reasoned.

"Oh, so it's okay for him to attack me?" Gohan asked, his voice not holding any sort of emotion.

"Gohan," Goku said, lowering his arms to touch the boy. Gohan winced, stepping out of his father's reach as the pain in his chest and arm increased. His breathing hard, he clenched his eyes shut before opening them again, glaring half heartedly at his father. He was starting to feel faint. Goku reached out again, but before he could touch his son, Gohan disappeared.

"Gohan, no! Not again!" Goku yelled in distress, not knowing what to do. Gohan walked away from them, just barely being able to keep himself upright. Once he reached a bedroom, he collapsed on a bed. His consciousness slipping, he wondered. Am I going to wake up again?


	16. Chapter 16

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Buu laughed as he turned another woman and child into candy, picking it up and placing it in his mouth, sucking on the delicious treat. He flew away coming across a deserted place where he would be building his house. Once finished he bathed, slept and such until he was interrupted. Once he went outside, he met a strange man, Hercule Satan, he had called himself. Befriending this man, he met another strange being, a puppy. Buu was quite happy and had promised his new friends that he wouldn't kill anymore. That is, until mister Satan was killed. Buu had managed to bring the man back, but was so angry that he created a cloud of smoke that was coming from the holes in his head. Out of the cloud, came a taller, skinnier and greyish Buu. The two fought, with the winner being the new Buu, or as the original had called him, bad Buu. Bad Buu had managed to change the original into chocolate, and devoured him. Another change took place and out came an even stronger Buu. He set off, in search of some worthy opponents and candy.

"Goku, you can take him on, right?" Krillin asked as the Z warriors stood in the middle of the lookout.

"No I can't, he's just to powerful!" Goku yelled.

"Man, what are we gonna do?" Krillin asked.

"What we need, is Gohan!" Goku answered, his hands turned into fists.

"Why not gather the dragon balls and wish him back?" Bulma suggested.

"We won't have enough time, will we?" Krillin asked.

"Of course we will, you know how fast Goku can gather the dragon balls if he really needs to," Bulma answered.

"Alright. We need the radar, Bulma, where is it?" Goku asked.

"At Capsule Corp. Just ask my dad, he'll know where it is," Bulma explained.

"Hold on, Kakarot, I'm coming too," Vegeta said.

"What?! But what if Buu comes here?!" Krillin yelled, his expression showing his worry.

"I doubt he'll find this place," Goku reassured. Vegeta nodded at the others and placed his hand on Goku's shoulder before the two vanished.

"I think I'm going to put this one to bed, he must be exhausted," Chi-Chi said, looking down at the child in her arms. Goten had fallen asleep in his mother's arms, exhausted from all his crying.

"Can I come to? I just-I don't want him to be alone," Trunks said, slightly shy.

"Good idea, Trunks. Go on ahead," Bulma agreed, smiling at the purple haired child. Trunks walked alongside Chi-Chi until they reached a room, placing the boy down on the bed, she turned to leave.

"Maybe you should take a nap, too, Trunks," she suggested before leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Trunks climbed in the bed next to his best friend, watching him sleep for a while before falling into unconsciousness himself.

Gohan stirred in his sleep, his eyes slowly opening. Confused, he carefully sat up, forgetting where he was for a moment. He climbed off of the bed he lay in previously and walked out of the room towards where he could sense the others were. Once he was there, he watched as they played card games and entertained themselves. He frowned. Where was his father and Vegeta? He could sense Buu, more powerful than ever, coming in their direction. He glanced at the others, could they not sense him? Just as the thought crossed his mind, the Supreme Kai and Kibito turned, yelling for the others to be on their guard. Buu landed, looking quite different than he did before. Buu smirked, laughing quietly to himself as he looked everyone over, his eyes never once resting on Gohan.

"Where is that strong fighter, I want a good fight!" Buu said, laughing loudly this time. The Supreme Kai slipped away, running in the direction the boys were, Kibito following soon after. Shin knew that the only hope they had left, was to train these two boys and let them fight against Buu.

"He isn't here!" Piccolo answered, not sure of which fighter Buu was talking about.

"Where is he? I want a good fight!" Buu yelled.

"Alright, listen here mister! I won't let any of my boys fight a monster like you! I just won't-" Chi-Chi yelled, walking up to Buu and yelling at him in his face, but stopped when he blasted her with his pinkish purple beam, turning her into an egg and crushing her. The others yelled in shock, not believing that Chi-Chi was now dead.

"Chi-Chi!" Bulma screamed, shaking out of fear. Buu slowly started walking towards them, smirking as they all trembling in fear. Gohan stared at them, leaning against a wall. He didn't really feel anything when his mother was killed, he actually found it rather funny. Gohan knew it was wrong, but being forgotten, being seen only by children, it really messed with his emotions. He didn't feel the appropriate emotions at the right time.

Bulma felt tears gather in her eyes, worry and fear spreading through her. She started to pray to any God that would listen, to just please protect the boys.

"Please, save us, Gohan," she whispered as her tears fell, sliding down her cheeks. Gohan raised a brow, the way she said that, the pain and fear in her voice, tugged at his heart strings. Sighing silently, Gohan calmly walked and stood in front of the group.

"Gohan," Krillin said, clenching his eyes shut, contemplating whether or not he should go through with his plan to save the others. Just as he was about to do just that, Gohan appeared in front of them, already in his super saiyan form. Buu jumped slightly at the boy's sudden appearance. Gohan stared blankly at the pink monster in front of him.

"Why are you here?" Gohan asked, his voice cold, though he sounded utterly bored.

"So, I have finally found you. I want to fight, now!" Buu demanded.

Gohan stared at Buu a while longer, face bored.

"No," he answered simply.

Buu and the rest of the group nearly fell over, is this kid crazy?! Buu frowned, growling at Gohan.

"Buu wants to fight, NOW!" He screamed, raising his power level.

"And I said no," Gohan said, placing a hand on his hip, showing how much he really didn't care. Buu was screaming in frustration now.

"Maybe I'll fight you tomorrow," Gohan said. Buu stopped screaming and raising his power lever, looking almost curiously at Gohan.

"Leave and come back tomorrow, I'll fight you then," Gohan stated.

Buu frowned, but stood up straight again.

"Tomorrow," Buu stated.

"Yes, tomorrow," Gohan said and watched as Buu stared at him for a while before taking to the air and flying away. Bulma collapsed to her knees, crying in relief that they were alright and that Gohan had heard her. Gohan slowly turned to the group, staring at the relieved looks they all wore.

"Where is my father and Vegeta?" Gohan asked, raising a brow at them.

"They left to gather the dragon balls," Piccolo answered.

"They didn't think of leaving someone more capable of protecting you?" Gohan questioned.

"They didn't think Buu would be able to find us here," Piccolo said.

Bulma suddenly stood and hugged Gohan, shocking the demi saiyan.

"Thank you, Gohan," she cried, hugging him tightly. Gohan awkwardly hugged her back, not knowing what else to do.

Krillin stepped forward nervously.

"Uhm, Gohan? I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do! I just felt the need to protect the others," Krillin apologised.

Gohan nodded at Krillin, he could understand the short man's reasoning. Once Bulma let go, Gohan gave her a small smile before he disappeared again. Bulma smiled at the spot where Gohan had stood. She was relieved. Even though Gohan acted as though he hated them, he would still save them. There was still a little bit of the old Gohan left. That sweet, innocent little boy.


	17. Chapter 17

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Goku sighed in relief when he sensed Buu leave the lookout. His friends were still there, but Chi-Chi. His thoughts trailed off. He knew he could bring her back with the dragon balls, so he didn't think much of it. He allowed himself a brief moment to grieve the loss of his mate, but the reassurance of the dragon balls helped him to not dwell on it any longer than necessary. He did wonder, however, why Buu left the lookout. He didn't sense anyone of his friends raising their power levels, so who could possibly have saved them? Maybe, they reasoned with Buu? No, there's no reasoning with a monster like that. Wait! Maybe Gohan had something to do with it? He could sense the boy, but ever since he first met Gohan, who, at the time, they thought was an imaginary friend of the boys, he could sense the boy nearby, although only faintly.

"This is the last one, Kakarot," Vegeta said as he flied over to where Goku was floating in the air. Vegeta placed the dragon ball into the bag that Bulma's father had given them.

"Alright! Let's head back and wish Gohan back before Buu goes there again!" Goku yelled enthusiastically.

Vegeta grabbed a hold onto Goku's shoulder as Goku place his pointer and middle finger to his forehead, concentrating, they disappeared, reappearing right in front of their group of friends.

"Goku!" Krillin yelled, happy to see his friend again.

"Goku, Chi-Chi, she-" Bulma started.

"I know, but it's okay, we'll just wish her and everyone who Buu killed back to life, but first, we need to defeat Buu," Goku said, smiling at Bulma.

"Alright let's-" Dende got cut off.

"Mommy? Where are you, mom?" Goten asked, looking around for his mother. The others tensed, not knowing what to do.

"Hey there, squirt, come over here," Goku said, kneeling down. Trunks followed after Goten, looking a lot more relaxed.

"Goten, I-this isn't easy to say, but your mother is dead," Goku stated, his voice and eyes soft. Goten's breath hitched in his throat, tears coming to his eyes.

"What? But there's no way! No way is mom dead!" Goten cried, almost screaming in grief.

"Goten, please-"

"I want my mommy!" Goten wailed.

"Enough! There's no time for this! We need to train so that we can defeat Buu and wish your mother and everyone Buu killed back to life! Stop crying Goten!" Goku yelled. Goku yelling at the little boy only made Goten cry harder. Goku sighed harshly, opening his mouth to say something, but was cut off when he suddenly got punched, hard. Blood and spit flew from Goku's mouth as he was sent flying backwards, skidding to a halt a few feet away.

Gohan stood there, arm still raised from when he punched his father in the stomach. Gohan was angry, absolutely livid and it was easily seen on his face as he glared viciously at Goku.

"Give him a minute to mourn, he just lost his mother, you bastard," Gohan seethed, his teeth clenched as he tried to hold back his anger and not lash out. Goku stared at Gohan, one eye clenched shut as he struggled to sit up. Gohan turned his back on the man and disappeared once more. Gohan crouched down in front of Goten, a reassuring smile on his face. Though, Gohan was still slightly hurt from the betrayal he still feels, he did promise the boys that he would protect them, and Gohan always keeps his promises. Placing a hand on the boys shoulder, he gained his attention.

"It's going to be alright," Gohan said softly.

"B-but I miss mommy," Goten sniffed, tears still rolling down his red cheeks.

"I know, but like your father said, you can just wish her back with the dragon balls," Gohan said reassuringly.

"R-really?" Goten asked, unsure.

"Yup, now, you have to train hard so that you can defeat Buu and wish mom back, okay?" Gohan said, a smile still on his face.

"Okay," Goten said, his sadness replaced by determination.

"Good, that goes to you to, Trunks. Train hard and save the world," Gohan said, turning to the boy.

"Uh, yeah! But, aren't you going to train with us?" Trunks asked.

"Please, brother!" Goten begged, eyes wide.

"I-" Gohan got cut off.

"Yeah! We can just wish you back with the dragon balls now then you can help us fight Majin Buu!" Trunks yelled, jumping in excitement.

"I don't know," Gohan hesitated.

"Please, Gohan," Goten begged again. His determination and excitement quickly slipping away, replaced by fear and sadness.

Gohan sighed harshly, hanging his head, it was silent.

"Alright," Gohan agreed after a moment of hesitation.

"Yes! Whoohoo!" Trunks cheered, jumping and floating in the air as he celebrated.

"Thanks, Gohan," Goten thanked quietly before he, too, celebrated with Trunks. Gohan's eye twitched at the name.

"Did he say yes?" Bulma asked.

"Yeah!" Trunks answered cheerfully while nodding vigorously.

"Good, sommon the dragon, Namekian," Vegeta ordered, staring pointedly at Dende.

"Right!" Dende answered while nodding, running and grabbing the bag with the dragon balls in.

Throwing them all out, Dende briefly watched as they rolled around. He held his hands above them before yelling.

"Eternal Dragon, by your name I call you forth, Shenron!"

The sky turned pitch black, no stars or moon in sight as the dragon balls glowed. The eternal dragon appeared out of the balls, hovering high above the group, he stared with his blood red eyes.

"You have summoned me, I will grant you two wishes. State your first wish," the dragon spoke in it's deep voice.

The group stared, mesmerized before Dende spoke.

"Eternal Dragon, I wish for Son Gohan to be brought back to life!"

"It shall be done," the dragons eyes glowed briefly before Gohan appeared, standing at the very back of the group.

"Your wish has been granted, state your second wish," Shenron said.

"We don't have any other wishes right now, Shenron," Dende said.

"Very well, I shall go, farewell," Shenron spoke before he returned back into the dragon balls. The balls raised from the ground before they were shot into different directions, only to be found again in four months time. Gohan sighed, not happy about being back.

"Gohan!" Goten yelled, running and jumping on his brother, hugging him tightly.

"It's good to have you back, son," Goku said, a small smile on his face.

Gohan stared at the man, not knowing how to react.

"Gohan, I would like for you to come train with me, if that's alright," Shin said, walking to the front of the group. Gohan sighed as he placed his little brother back on the ground.

"Yeah, sure," Gohan answered, walking to where Shin and Kibito stood.

"I might not see you again, Gohan. Goodbye, my son," Goku spoke gently. Gohan wanted to scoff and brush the man off, but knew it would not only hurt his father's feelings, but also his brother's.

"Yeah, I'll see you in other world, father," Gohan said before the three of them disappeared. Goku hoped that all this training was going to work, so that they could all live on as happy as possible.


	18. Chapter 18

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

"Alright boys, time for your training!" Goku said, a smile on his face. The two children started to whine. They didn't feel like training.

"But I don't wanna," Goten whined.

"If you don't train, then we can't beat Buu and then wish your mother back," Goku said, voice stern with an angry frown on his face.

"I'm sorry, dad," Goten said, head bowed in shame.

"Don't be sorry, son. Now let's get started!" Goku shouted excitedly.

He had somehow managed to convince Piccolo to help him with showing the kids do the appropriate moves to do the fusion technique.

"Alright, I need you two to turn into super saiyans," Goku said as he and Piccolo stood in front of the two boys. Goten and Trunks nodded at each other and both turned into super saiyans.

"Good, now I want both of you to take it even higher," Goku ordered.

The two smirked at each other, both raising their power, the lookout shook lightly.

"Amazing, and at their age!" Piccolo said. Once the two boys stopped, Goku smiled slightly.

"Now, take it to your maximum!" Goku yelled. The two kids looked shocked for a moment.

"But, we just did," Trunks said.

"Oh, well then Trunks your power is a little to high, take it down to match Goten's," Goku said. Smiling when the boy finally got it right.

"Great! Your energies are perfectly aligned! Now I want you to remember this, how it feels," Goku said before telling them to power down.

"Alright, are you ready to learn the fusion technique? It will be hard and it will take a lot of discipline and practice," Goku said, watching the boys carefully.

"Well yeah," Trunks said.

"Okay, once you've matched your energies precisely, you must strike a series of delicate poses together, if either one of you is even the slightest bit off, the fusion will fail. Now, I'm about to teach you the exact moves, so pay close attention, okay?" Goku explained.

"Yes!" Both Trunks and Goten said in unison.

"To get it started, you two will stand right next to each other, then go like this," Goku said as raised both arms, his left arm over his chest, towards the right of him. "And make sure your arms are straight,"

"Then you say, 'Fu'," Goku crouched down so that his legs are bent slightly at the knees. Moving exactly three steps over, his arms moving over his head, his right arm now over his chest, to the left of himself. "You'll approach each other with outstretched arms, moving exactly three steps over and once you gat that you say," Goku explained. He shifted his arms back to the original position, his left over his right, his hand made into fists as his right leg is raised from the ground and over his left leg.

"'Sion', quarter turn, and watch the angle of you knee,"

Goku moved once again, his right arm stretched over his head slightly bent with his pointer finger straight, pointing at the sky. His left arm was bent at the elbow near his left legs knee, pointer finger also straight. His left leg was bent while the right one was stretched out.

"Ha! Now watch. Point your fingers parallel and don't forget the angle of your legs, it's very important!" Goku instructed.

They all watched him, looking at him strangely. Piccolo felt his eye twitch. This was ridiculous!

"Okay, now come here Piccolo, let's show the how it's done," Goku said.

Reluctantly, Piccolo walked over to him, standing next to him. Trunks and Goten had to stifle their laughter as the two men did their poses, an annoyed look on Piccolo's face. Vegeta frowned, this couldn't be right! These were not the moves a saiyan should ever make! Vegeta growled slightly. Utter nonsense.

"Alright! Now I'm going to show you the different stages of a super saiyan!" Goku said, gaining everyone's attention.

"Stages? Oh wait that's right! Gohan taught us about that!" Trunks exclaimed.

"Yeah, there are two stages, right?" Goten asked. Goku smirked a little at them.

"I found a new one," he answered.

"What?!" Everyone could be heard yelling in shock.

"I'll show you," Goku said as he prepared himself to power up.

"This is a normal supper saiyan," Goku said as he turned into the proper from.

"Taking it a little higher, is the super saiyan 2 form," Goku raised his power, his muscles bulging slightly.

"And this," Goku began as he started screaming. The ground shook as he rose his power level dramatically, his hair glowing a it grew past his waist.

"Is a super saiyan 3, the new form I discovered," Goku said.

Vegeta was shocked. How could this be?! How could Kakarot be so much stronger then him?! It just wasn't right!

"Wow! That's awesome!" Trunks yelled.

"Can you beat Buu when your this srtong, dad?" Goten asked curiously.

It was silent for a moment as Goku thought.

"I don't know, truth be told I might not even stand a chance against him now, but I know you two can, with the fusion technique," Goku said as he placed both of his hands on the two boys heads. Once he let go of the super saiyan 3 form, he could feel just how exhausted it made him.

"I don't have much time left, I trust that the two of you can get this right and beat Majin Buu," Goku said, smiling at his friends.

"Goku, your time is up," Baba said as floated towards them.

"What?! But an entire day hasn't gone by yet!" Krillin yelled.

"I know, that super saiyan 3 form took a lot out of me, but I had to show it to you guys, now you have something to work even harder for," Goku said, glancing between the boys before his gaze rested on Vegeta.

"Isn't that right, Vegeta?" Goku asked.

Vegeta scowled before smirking at him.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, take care of them Piccolo, Vegeta, make sure they get this right, okay?" Goku smiled. Goten ran up to him. He picked the little boy up and hugged him, suddenly feeling saddened that he had to go.

"I'll see you later," Goku said as he placed goten on the ground. Flying up towards the sky, Goku looked down and waved at all his friends. He was going to miss them a lot. Maybe, he'll get to see them again.

Gohan stared around confused at the planet they arrived on. It looked much like their own, however there was a lot of what looked like moons around.

"What the? Supreme Kai, where are we?" Gohan asked, looking around.

"This is my world, Gohan, the world of the Kai's," Shin explained.

"Okay, but why are we here?" Gohan asked.

"Yes, master. I am also puzzled because of this," Kibito said as he walked closer.

"To get the Z sword," Shin said.

"What?! The Z sword?! But master, none of the Kai's, not even you, could pull out the Z sword, how can Gohan manage such a feat?!" Kibito yelled.

"I believe Gohan is the one, now come, let's go," Shin said as he turned.

"What is the Z sword?" Gohan asked, but was ignored as the Supreme Kai took off, flying in the direction of the Z sword. Gohan growled, he hated being ignored. He flew after the Kai, leaving Kibito behind.

Once they landed on a rock, Gohan could see the Z sword, well, he assumed that was it.

"So, this is the Z sword?" Gohan asked as he walked forward staring at the sword. He could sense something strange about it, he just doesn't know what exactly.

"Yes, now, I want you to try and pull it out Gohan," Shin said. Gohan's eye twitched at the name.

"He won't be able to pull it out, I guarantee it," Kibito said. Gohan's eye twitched again.

"Kibito, we all had our chance, now give Gohan his," Shin said, he could feel the annoyance radiate off of Gohan. Another eye twitched.

"But master! No mortal even made it here! Gohan isn't supposed to even be standing here, much less try to pull out the Z sword! This is sacred ground!" Kibito yelled. More twitching as a dark look came over Gohan. His back was turned to the two who were arguing so they couldn't see the dark look.

"Enough, Kibito! Give Gohan his chance!" Shin yelled.

"But master-"

This time, Gohan's fingers and brow twitched as he turned abruptly, raising his hand and forming a Ki blast in his palm, cutting Kibito off.

"If you don't shut up now, I will kill you," Gohan stated, his voice cold. Both the Supreme Kai and Kibito were shocked, slightly frightened as well. Gohan lowered his arm and turned to the Z sword once more. Grabbing the handle, Gohan gave an experimental tug to see just how hard it would be to pull it out.

"What happens when you pull this thing out?" Gohan asked, voice still void of any emotion.

"The sword draws on it's masters deepest hidden powers. The two become one weapon. Capable of cutting down even the mightiest of foes," Kibito explained after a moments hesitation.

"Wow," Gohan said, sounding quite bored instead of impressed.

"Go ahead, Gohan," Shin encouraged.

Sighing, Gohan turned into a super saiyan, raising his power even higher, close to turning into a super saiyan 2. Gohan stood straight, once again taking a hold of the Z sword. He started pulling, though it wad very difficult. His feet buried themselves into the ground as the sword began to come out. He wanted to smirk at Kibito, who had said that he won't be able to do it.

They stood on the ground, a bit away from the rock the Z sword was stuck in. Gohan had to admit, this thing was very heavy, in by his standards. He raised it, with great difficulty, though it forced him to bend his back. Nearly falling on his head, he looked at the Supreme Kai, who was now upside down. The Kai looked shocked, not having expected Gohan to have such difficulty just raising it. Once Gohan managed to stand up straight once again, he breathed a small breath of relief.

"Now that you have the Z sword, you must train with it and master it. You have great power, Gohan," Kibito explained. Gohan nodded absentmindedly, he could still feel something coming off of that sword, but what is it?


	19. Chapter 19

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Gohan sighed as he swung the sword with little struggle. His special training was to just swing around some stupid sword. He could still sense something about the sword, but still couldn't pin point what exactly it was. He nearly let out a laugh when his father appeared in front of him, the blade of the sword cutting off a few strands of the saiyan's hair.

"What are you doing here, father?" Gohan asked, voice not holding any emotion.

"Who me? Just trying to keep my head," Goku said as he stood up from his crouched position. He looked Gohan over, a small smile on his face.

"It's good to see you again, son," Goku spoke softly. Gohan merely grunted at his father.

"Greetings, Goku!" Shin called, walking up to Gohan and Goku.

"Supreme Kai," Goku greeted, smiling widely at the Kai.

"Cool sword, Gohan. Mind if I see it?" Goku asked. Gohan smirked slightly and held it out to his father.

"Careful, it's quite heavy," Gohan warned.

"It's beautiful," Goku said as took the sword, letting out a surprised yell as it fell straight to the earth.

"You weren't kidding!" Goku yelled, laughing lightly.

"I bet it'd be easier if you put your weight behind it, like this," Goku said as tried to lift it again, managing just that after a few tries, swinging it around with difficulty. The Supreme Kai and Kibito watched on in shock.

Goku handed it back over to Gohan, smiling as he turned back to the Supreme Kai.

"Hey, Supreme Kai? Do you mind if I stay here? Just until Gohan finishes his training?" Goku asked.

"Yes! Yes, of course," Shin replied, still recovering from his shock. Goku grinned. Gohan felt his brow twitch. Great, just great. Now he has to spend even more time with a man he despises. Sighing, Gohan moved away from his father and resumed his training, all the while contemplating what it was that was bothering him so much about this sword.

Not long after, Gohan could wield the sword as if it weighed nothing. He had figured out what was bothering him about the sword. He cod sense another energy coming from within it. Gohan wonders how it got there in the first place, but decided to push it away. He needed to get it out, but how? Gohan sliced the rock that his father threw at him. Damn it, it wasn't enough! Gohan was starting to get annoyed when his father threw something else at him. Gohan hadn't been paying attention, so it was quite a shock when it came flying at him. On reflex, he used the sword to cut it, but the sword broke. The others were shocked, their hearts falling when Gohan held what was left before dropping it. He was satisfied. Finally! He had figured that the sword would need to be broken in order to release whoever was stuck inside. He smirked when an old Kai came out, appearing behind them, though Gohan watched the whole time with a smirk on his face. Now, the real training will begin.

This was it, it was finally the moment to see whether or not their training had been worth it. Piccolo let out a nervous breath as everyone stood around, watching as the boys did their moves. Once the bright light had disappeared, a rather chubby boy stood in front of them. Piccolo very nearly face palmed. The others crowded around, asking if the boy had a name. The boy answered that his name was Gotenks, a combination of Goten and Trunks. Once the fusion wore off, they did it again. This time instead of a chubby boy, stood an unnaturally skinny boy, looking as if he could fall over and die at any moment. When they did it again, a well built boy with spiky black hair and purple streaks stood before them. He was arrogant though, and rushed off to fight Buu. They came back, with lots of bruises, though once the fusion wore off, the two promised they wouldn't do so again. When they tried it again, this time going in as super saiyans, they rushed off to fight Buu once more. Piccolo sighed, what are they going to do with these two.

The boys were resting now. As the others stood around each other, talking amongst themselves.

"Do you guys think that Gotenks will be able to beat Buu?" Krillin asked.

Vegeta frowned, he knew, those boys just weren't enough.

"No," Vegeta answered.

"What?!" The others yelled, distraught. If Gotenks couldn't beat Buu, then who?

"B-but if they can't then who?" Krillin asked.

"There's no doubt that Gotenks is powerful, but he's still no match for Buu," Vegeta said as he turned to them.

"The only person strong enough is Gohan," Vegeta continued.

"He was strong before, but imagine his power once he comes back from training with the Supreme Kai," Piccolo said, glancing around at everyone.

"Yeah, but who knows how long that's going to take? By the time he finishes his training, the whole world could be destroyed!" Krillin exclaimed.

Buu flew up towards the lookout, he was tired of waiting and wanted to fight that boy, now! Buu landed and glanced around, frowning when he couldn't see that boy.

"Ah! He's here!" Piccolo yelled.

"Listen Krillin, I want you to take the boys into the Hyperbolic time chamber, keep them quiet and tell them to train," Piccolo quickly instructed.

Krillin nodded and ran away, quickly searching for the boys to take them into Hyperbolic time chamber. The boys were loud, but luckily they didn't catch Buu's attention.

"Just one hour, there must still be people left to kill for your amusement," Krillin heard Piccolo trying to reason with Buu. Once he ushered the boys inside and closed the door, he ran back to where the others were, only to see Buu approaching the group. Vegeta growled slightly before smirking, jumping in between Buu and the rest of the group.

"I'll play," he said before he turned into a super saiyan and charged at Buu.

"Vegeta! No!" Goku yelled. He Kibito and Shin were sitting in front of the crystal ball, watching the events on earth. Gohan sat in front of the old Kai, arms crossed and eyes closed. He didn't necessarily care what happened to the others, but was slightly worried about the boys. They've been sitting here for hours. Gohan sighed, feeling his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. If things didn't go any faster he might just lose it and perhaps even kill this old Kai. He was an even bigger pervert than Roshi. He was paging through a book, constantly laughing and occasionally scolding Gohan, telling him to focus. Gohan could feel his Ki signature spike every now and then, his annoyance could clearly be sensed.

Goten and Trunks were currently sleeping. Piccolo had informed them that he and Buu were on their way and that they should rest before they arrived. Vegeta had put up a good fight and had distracted Buu for most of the hour, but was eventually knocked unconscious and had fallen from the edge of the lookout. He was badly wounded and the fall had caused even more damage. There was no reassurance that the saiyan prince would survive. Gotenks tried to make his fight more memorable, but only succeeded in convincing Piccolo to destroy the Hyperbolic time chamber's door, causing them to be stuck there. Buu had managed to tear a hole in the dimensions and had went through it, leaving Gotenks and Piccolo to struggle and get out. Once they did get out, Buu had already managed to eat everyone there. The real fight started after that, with Gotenks taking the fight more seriously. Buu would soon be destroyed, right?


	20. Chapter 20

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Goku clenched his fists. It seemed like Gotenks was winning against Buu, however, Goku could see through the act. Buu was planning something, but what? Goku started pacing. How long was Gohan's training going to take? Goku started chewing lightly on his thumb nail, a habit he got when he was impatient.

"This isn't good! The fusion will ware off soon, then they're going to be defenceless!" Goku yelled.

"Please, just calm-" the Supreme Kai was cut off by a voice.

"Goku!"

"King Kai? What's going on?" Goku asked, looking up to the sky.

"It's bad, Goku! The fusion is about to ware off and without it, no one is a match for Buu!" King Kai yelled, panic could clearly be heard in his voice.

"I know! But what can we do?!" Goku asked, fists and teeth clenched.

"We can't wait for Gohan's training to be done. There might not even be a planet left to save!" King Kai yelled.

Gohan's eye twitched, annoyed that they were talking about him like he wasn't even there.

"King Yemma asked me to give you a message, Goku. He knows that the planet is in a dire situation and that the entire universe will be destroyed after Buu destroys earth. He has given us a chance to save the world! Now, you have to go back to earth. You were given permission to go back and fight just until Buu is destroyed!" King Kai said, slightly relieved that Goku would be able to fight.

"That's great! I better get going! Thank you, King Kai!" Goku answered, running to where Gohan was sitting.

"I'll hold off Buu until you get there, okay?" Goku said softly, a small smile on his face.

"Okay," Gohan answered, his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"Wait! Take these," the old Kai interrupted, briefly taking his hands away from where they were facing Gohan, to raise his power, and took off his earings and handing them to Goku. Goku blinked, confused as to why the old Kai would give him these.

"What are these for?" Goku asked.

"When you get to earth, find someone and let them it on their left ear, while one is on your right. It's my kind of fusion," the old Kai explained.

"Really?! Wow!" Goku exclaimed, already putting one of the earrings on his right ear. Gohan raised a brow, there was something wrong. These types of things don't just happen to them. Something so convenient.

"What's the catch?" Gohan asked, voice emotionless.

"Smart boy," the old Kai smirked, chuckling to himself. Goku looked between the two, confused.

"Once you fuse, the fusion is permanent. Don't turn into super saiyans before you use the earrings, or you will have to stay that way permanently," the old Kai explained.

"What?! Permanent?!" Goku yelled.

"Goku! There isn't any time! You have to go, the fusion just wore off!" Shin yelled, waving his arm.

"Uh, right. I'll see you soon, Gohan," Goku said while placing his pointer and middle finger to his forehead.

Gohan grunted in answer, resuming his training once Goku left.

Piccolo was about to start panicking when Goku appeared in front of them.

"Goku?!" He yelled out from shock, not having expected the man to be there.

"Daddy!" Goten exclaimed, excited as he practically tackled the man in a hug, happy to see his father again.

"Hey there, son," Goku replied, hugging Goten tightly.

"Not to be rude, but why are you here? HOW are you here?" Piccolo asked.

"King Yemma sent me here because he doesn't want the earth to be destroyed," Goku explained.

"That's cool, now you can beat Buu's butt!" Trunks yelled.

"I can't, I'm not strong enough, we need to hold him off until Gohan gets here," Goku said, a frown on his face as he let go of Goten.

"How is he?" Piccolo asked, voice soft.

"I don't know, Piccolo. He's definitely gotten stronger, but other than that, I really don't know," Goku answered, his voice saddened by the thought of his elder son.

"Anyway, we need to find Vegeta," Goku said, looking around.

"Vegeta? Isn't he dead?" Piccolo asked.

"No, he's somewhere near where the lookout was, we just need to find him," Goku said as he slowly started flying in the direction of where the lookout used to be before it was destroyed. Once there, they all looked around, trying to find the prince before Buu got back.

"Ah, dad!" Trunks yelled when he spotted the prince, flying quickly to where the beaten and broken saiyan lay. Trunks sat on his knees next to his father, calling for Goku, Piccolo and Goten.

"Guys, I found him! He's over here!" Trunks yelled, waving one arm while cupping his free hand near his mouth. They came flying, coming to a sudden stop once they saw the prince.

"Oh, Vegeta," Goku said softly as he bent down, lightly touching the man's forehead with his fingertips.

Vegeta frowned, images running through his head. He could feel someone lightly touching his forehead. Much like he did with Gohan, when they had found the boys body. He had had an overwhelming feeling of guilt and didn't know what to do. He had touched Gohan's cold cheek, just as lightly as this person was touching his forehead. Frowning, Vegeta slowly opened his eyes, blurry images in his sight. Blinking a few times, he could finally make out the image.

"Kakarot?" Vegeta asked softly, his voice straining to speak.

"Vegeta? Are you alright?" Goku asked, gently helping his friend sit up. Vegeta groaned at the strain in his muscles. He had honestly thought that he had died.

"We need to get you healed," Goku spoke softly, glancing around. He could sense Dende.

"I'll be right back," Goku said before he disappeared.

He reappeared in front of Dende, frightening the Namekian.

"Oh, Goku, it's just you," Dende spoke, relief crealy shown in his voice.

"Hey, Dende. Will you come with me? Vegeta needs you to heal him he's pretty beat up," Goku said, a smile on his face.

"Yes, of course," Dende spoke, nodding his head.

Smiling, Goku placed a hand on the small Namekian's shoulder and disappeared, reappearing again by Vegeta. Dende quickly knelt down, noticing jusg how badly Vegeta was injured. He started healing him. Dende sat back once he was finished, smiling slightly at Vegeta before he stood up.

"Where is Buu?" Vegeta asked as he slowly sat up.

"We don't know," Piccolo answered. Vegeta grunted and stood up, stretching his arms and legs, loosening up his stiff and sore muscles.

"Dad, Buu ate mom," Trunks said, voice soft and eyes sad.

Vegeta felt his heart clench slightly at the news, though didn't show any sign of his heartache on the outside. Vegeta made a rash decision and placed his hand on Trunks' head, lightly ruffling the boy's purple hair. Trunks looked up at his father, slightly shocked, before smiling widely at the man. Vegeta gave his own small smile, knowing he had made the little boy feel better. They all sat down on rocks nearby, waiting for Buu to show himself again.

"Did you fix things with Gohan, Kakarot?" Vegeta asked, feeling the need to know whether the boy was alright or not.

"I don't think so, Vegeta. He's still pretty angry with me," Goku answered. Vegeta sighed silently. He knew that after Buu was defeated, Goku had to go back, amd now that Gohan was alive again, Goku was technically leaving the boy behind again. He needs to figure out a way for the two of them to sort out their problems. But how? What can he honestly do? They all sprang to their feet once they could feel Buu again and he was coming straight for them. They tensed once the monstrosity was right in front of them, smirking widely. Gohan arrived on earth with Shin, briefly thanking the man before taking off. He could sense that Buu was there where his friends were.

"Ah! What is that enormous power coming this way?!" Piccolo yelled, frightened by the thought of possibly facing a new enemy.

"It's Gohan!" Goku answered after he had reached out with his senses to make sure. It wasn't long before Gohan could be seen, coming to a stop in between his father and Vegeta. Gohan smirked sadistically at Buu, glad that he could finally take out his anger on something. And that's exactly what he did.


	21. Chapter 21

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

"Gohan, I didn't think you would make it so soon, son," Goku said, floating slightly behind the teenager.

Gohan grunted at his father, not really paying attention to the man. Gohan turned, his icy gaze resting on the two children.

"Are you two okay?" Gohan asked, his voice soft.

"Y-yeah, we're okay, right Goten?" Trunks said, scared of the look in Gohan's eyes.

"Uh huh," Goten replied, rapidly nodding his head.

Gohan smiled at them, closing his eyes to make the smile less creepy. It caused the two boys to calm down a bit. Gohan turned his attention to Dende, briefly looking the young Namekian over to make sure that he was alright.

"Finally, I was wondering when you would show up," Buu said, laughing hysterically at the end of his sentence.

"Where are the others?" Gohan asked, not taking his eyes off of the pink being for one second.

"I ate them, they were quite delicious," Buu answered while slapping his hand on his stomach. The others tensed, briefly scared at how Gohan might react to the news. Gohan stared blankly at Buu, blinking as he watched Buu's smirk slowly slip from his face. Gohan briefly raised his brow, obviously Buu had expected him to freak and attack blindly.

"Oh," is all Gohan said, his voice portraying his boredom. Buu frowned, not having expected the boy to take the news so lightly.

"Gohan! We need to defeat him!" Goku called, his voice shaking with anger. Gohan's eye twitched at the name. Oh how he hated his name. The name given to him by his mother and father.

"Gohan," Goku said sternly, waiting for the boy to start acting seriously. Another eye twitch. Buu picked up on the boy's annoyance of his own name and smirked.

"Well, Gohan, aren't you going to fight me? Or are you to afraid that you'll lose and disappoint your father? What's the matter, Gohan? Are you scared? Gohan!" Buu taunted, laughing hysterically once again. Gohan sighed, well here goes nothing. Spreading his legs apart and clenching his fists, he started screaming, raising his power level. The earth below them started shaking, shockwaves coming off of Gohan as the wind whipped harshly at the group surrounding the teenager. His hair spiked up, turning a soft golden color, his eyes an icy blue green.

Piccolo covered his eyes with his arms, protecting himself from the dust and rubble that was flying everywhere because of Gohan's rapid power raising. Piccolo felt Gohan's power pulse through him. He could feel the innocence and purity coming from the boy as well as the anger and sadness that was fuelling this power. Piccolo felt something swell in his chest. He was proud. He was so proud of his friend and former student that he felt as though he could just cry or dance of happiness, but he was Piccolo after all. He kept these feelings to himself for now. The rubble and dust stopped flying as the wind calmed. Gohan had finished raising his power level and was now glaring at his opponent. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could still feel that sense to make his former mentor and father proud.

Gohan felt his eye twitch, annoyed at that feeling. He doesn't want to be like that anymore. He doesn't want to live his life to please everyone, not anymore. Buu frowned, this boy was a lot stronger than the first time they had fought. But, no matter, he still stood no chance, not against Majin Buu! Smirking, Buu prepared himself before launching himself at the boy. Gohan smirked, blocking every singly hit Buu could throw at him. The pink man was getting frustrated, angered by the fact that the boy wasn't taking this seriously. He needed to get a way to distract Gohan. But how? Smirking, Buu let the energy wave that Gohan sent hit him, blowing him into pieces. He made sure to let two pieces of his body stay and hide. Once he was reformed, he descended and landed a few feet from his enemies.

Gohan frowned, something didn't feel right.

"So, you're going to let other people fight your battles for you?" Buu asked, completely ignoring Gohan. Trunks and Goten frowned, not knowing what Buu was up to.

"No, your fight is with me now," Gohan said sternly.

"I'll fight you later. I have a score to settle with them," Buu said, pointing at the two boys.

"They have nothing to do with this anymore, I'm your opponent," Gohan said, anger clearly heard in his voice.

"Or are you to scared? You two are nothing but cowards," Buu spoke.

"Oh yeah?! You just watch, mister! Lets do this, Goten?" Trunks said, briefly pointing at Buu before he nodded to Goten. The two boys started their fusion dance.

"No! I said I'd take care of this!" Gohan yelled, though he was completely ignored.

"I said stay out of this!" Gohan screamed, his voice shaking with anger. He was still ignored. Once the two boys fused, they were already in super saiyan 3 form. Gotenks smirked and rushed forward, ready to beat on Buu. Gohan flew in front of the boy, arm raised as he used a lot of his power to slap the boy. Gotenks let out a shocked noise as he fell over, skidding across the ground before coming to a stop. Falling out of the super saiyan form, Gotenks looked up. Gohan stood before the fallen boy, an angry glare on his face.

"I told you to stay out of this," Gohan spoke, voice cold and void of all emotion. Gotenks shuddered briefly at the glare and cold tone before he jumped up, his power making him ignorant and causing him to make stupid mistakes.

"Oh yeah?! Well I don't care about what you said! Why don't you stay out of this?! I don't need you anymore!" Gotenks yelled, forming a Ki blast that wasn't to powerful to seriously injure the teenager, but could still do some damage. The words hurt Gohan. They didn't need him anymore? B-but. Gohan's train of thought was stopped when Gotenks hit him in the face with the Ki blast. The blast caused Gohan to become deaf for a moment and all he could see was white. Because of his distraction and the lack of his guard being up, the blast did a lot more damage then it initially should have. Gohan felt a lot of pain, but couldn't point out where the source was. Gohan let out pained noises, clutching at his now bleeding face. He was hurt in every way possible. Piccolo, Goku and Vegeta watched on in shock. Why would Gotenks blast a Ki bal Gohan? The teen was only trying to help. Gotenks rushed forward, a few feet from where Buu was standing, when the fusion wore off.

"Hey what the-?" Trunks began, but cut himself off. The two children jumped back until they were closer to the others.

Gohan felt himself tremble. Where were his senses? Why won't it come back to him. Dende rushed forward, lightly touching Gohan's arm. He started speaking with the teen. Gohan was blinking rapidly, trying to get his vision back. He saw a blurred image before him, a feather like touch on his arm.

"Gohan!" Goku hurriedly flew over to his eldest son, his expression worried.

"What were you boys thinking?! Why would you attack Gohan like that?!" Piccolo yelled. The two children stood, heads bowed in shame.

"Gohan? Son, can you hear me?" Goku asked, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. Gohan's sight was slowly returning to him with the help of Dende's healing. He still couldn't hear and his father talking to him sounded like he was listening from underneath a sea of water.

Buu started laughing hysterically again, motioning with his fingers. Gohan's senses were back, though he was still in pain. He made a move to thank Dende for helping him, when he was covered in pink slime. The others cried out in shock, not having expected that. Piccolo found himself covered in the pink goo as well. He struggled, trying to get out, but was quickly devoured by the pink slime. Once Gohan and Piccolo was completely over taken by the slime, Buu motioned with his hand. The slime flew over to him, sticking to him as he began to glow, changing form once again.

"No! Gohan!" Goku yelled, his voice panicked. They watched in shock as a more human like Buu formed. He wore Piccolo's cape and Gohan's gi top as well as some comfortable pants. Buu started laughing. The destruction of earth shall now begin.


	22. Chapter 22

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.*

Buu was laughing hysterically, punching and kicking in the air, testing his new strength. Goku felt his heart shatter. No! He just got him back!

"No! You bastard! Give me back my son!" Goku screamed, shocking the others. Goku never once cursed before. Shaking, Goku started powering up, though he knew he stood no chance against this new and improved Buu. His vision blurred by tears, he just lost his son again, after just getting him back. Goku was blinded by his rage as he charged at Buu.

"Kakarot, no!" Vegeta yelled. That fool! He wasn't thinking straight! Powering up quickly, Vegeta rushed in after Goku, wanting to at least help a little.

The two children stared at the fight as both their fathers fought bravely. Goten was scared. His brother was gone, for good and now there was no one who could truly protect him from Buu. The two turned to each other and nodded. They did their fusion dance, still not understanding what had happened before. Gotenks rushed in and fought alongside the two full blooded saiyans. Buu flew back to gain some distance between them, smirking.

"So, you're Gohan's father, right?" Buu asked, staring at Goku. Goku clenched his fists and teeth.

"That's right you are, aren't you. Well, Gohan doesn't seem to think of you as his father anymore," Buu said, smirking. He knew that his words would hurt Goku. Vegeta frowned, that can't be true, can it? Gohan used to look up to Kakarot. But, lately he was very angry with his father, so it might be true.

"Your little boy is hurting so much, Goku. You can't even begin to understand the pain and hatred he's feeling," Buu said. Goku had a shocked look on his face. Could it be true? It can't be! It just can't! Goku raised his power once more before charging at Buu again, followed closely by Gotenks and Vegeta.

The fight didn't last long, when Buu caught them off guard and absorbed Gotenks. While Buu was transforming, Goku used his instant transmission to gain some distance between them and Buu. Goku decided that it was probably time to use the earrings the old Kai gave him. Throwing one to Vegeta, he quickly explained the necessities to the prince. Once they fused, they were a perfect match for Buu. They put up a great fight, purposely letting themselves be absorbed. Once inside Buu, the two separated when they let go of their energy shield. Vegeta crushed his earring, Goku doing the same afterward. They travelled through Buu's innards, facing strange things. First the green cell like things then the worms and much more. Once they reached Buu's brain, they went their separate ways. Goku came across Gohan, though it wasn't the boy, as this one instantly attacked Goku. Vegeta had to fight off Piccolo and Gotenks. Though it turns out they were only images in Buu's mind as they turned into different types of sweets.

Facing Buu in his own mind turned out to be a lot more difficult than the two full blooded saiyans thought. They had managed to free Piccolo and the boys, but had to fight Buu in his own mind. Once Vegeta released the old Buu, Buu began screaming, the images of himself in his mind melting away. The two saiyans each grabbed two pods and escaped from Buu. They had gone through one of the holes that formed in his head, letting out steam as he screamed in what sounded like pain. Goku and Vegeta stared, slightly mesmerised at what was happening. Was Buu getting stronger or weaker? It felt as though he was getting weaker, but the two knew better than to underestimate an opponent. Flying down and landing on the ground, the two full blooded saiyans placed the people pods on the ground.

They cut open the pods with a thin Ki beam. Kicking the pods away once they're friends and family were out, Dende immediately went and healed them. Piccolo was first to wake up followed closely by Trunks and Goten.

"What happened?" Trunks asked as he sat up, glancing around. Vegeta was staring at Buu, who was now nearly completely surrounded by smoke. He didn't like this feeling he was getting. Dende was struggling to heal Gohan, the demi saiyan still had his injuries from when Gotenks had attacked him.

"Is he going to be okay? Why isn't he waking up? Dende?!" Goku panicked, something he wasn't used to.

"He'll be alright, I don't know when he'll wake up, I'm sorry Goku," Dende answered, panting lightly from the amount of energy he had to use just now. Goku sighed in relief, cradling his eldest son to his chest. Gohan's face looked so peaceful, almost as if he were dead. Goku clenched his eyes shut at the thought, gently placing Gohan on the ground. He stood up, determination burning like flames in his eyes. Goku stood next to Goten who stood next to Trunks, Vegeta next to his son.

Piccolo watched Gohan, silently promising himself to save the boy, not only from Buu, but from Gohan himself. The boy was going down a dangerous road and needed to be led back the right way before it was to late. Piccolo turned and stood next to Goku, determined to help get rid of this evil. The smoke settled, revealing the new Buu. He looked a lot like he did in his second form, only now, he was mere child. Could this Buu really be so strong? The power coming off of this Buu, was overwhelming. How were they going to defeat this monstrosity? Piccolo clenched his teeth, slightly intimidated by this new power, however, his thoughts kept drifting to the unconscious boy behind him. Gohan. You saved me from that path of darkness. It's my turn to save you, my friend. I will try and defeat this monster, for you. You saved us from Cell, with the price being your love and will to live. I will defeat Buu, even if the price is my very own life. I will destroy him and I will help lead you back down the right path. Everything. I will give and sacrifice everything for you, Gohan. You deserve it.

Buu smirked, laughing loudly as he started punching his fists to his chest, making ape like noises.

"Is he just trying to play games with us?" Vegeta asked, frustration clear in his voice. Buu stopped abruptly, raising his hand in the air and creating a massive Ki ball on his finger.

"Ahh! That could destroy the entire planet!" Piccolo yelled, eyes wide and teeth clenched. What are they going to do now. They tensed up when Buu threw it at them, readying themselves to block the blast and maybe send it right back at Buu.

"Masenko, HA!" The yellow blast hit Buu's pink purple like blast before it could hit the group. The two blasts were sent into the air, where it exploded. A massive shockwave caused dirt and rocks to go flying everywhere as a bright light briefly blinded everyone. Once everything settled again, Piccolo turned around, followed closely by the others. Gohan stood there, his hands flat, showing his palms, his left hand slightly crossed over the right. He was panting heavily, though still managed a bone chilling glare.

"I'm not done with you yet,"


	23. Chapter 23

*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.

Warning: Violence, self harm, angst and character death.

Sequel: Facing my demons.*

Gohan panted, he was starting to feel tired. Taking a deep breath, Gohan steadied himself, standing up straight. He walked forward, still glaring at Buu. He walked passed his father, sensing the man's inner turmoil. He knew that his father was happy that he was okay, but was also upset. Gohan didn't know why his father was upset and couldn't bring himself to care at that moment. He had other things to worry about right now. Goku sighed silently. It seems that Gohan was the one to save them, again. The boy had been doing so a lot lately. Goku felt as though he was supposed to carry that burden, instead of Gohan. He wanted to shelter the boy from all the responsibility of being the hero, but knew it far to late for that. Gohan stopped in front of the group, knowing that he had a better chance of surviving and blocking a lot more than the others could.

Taking a deep breath, Gohan readied himself. He knew that this was going to take most of his energy, but he had to do it. First, he needed to test just how strong this new Buu is. Gohan quickly turned into a super saiyan before he charged at Buu, landing quite a hard punch to the pink child's face. Buu hardly reacted at all. Gohan nodded to himself as the two began punching and kicking at each other, though Gohan was blocking more than actually attacking. This Buu was a lot stronger that he originally thought. Buu caught Gohan off guard and endowed the teenager at the back of his neck, sending Gohan crashing into the ground, creating a large crater. Panting, Gohan whiped away the blood that had fallen from his mouth and stood up.

Breathing deeply, Gohan cupped his hands at his sides, gathering large amounts of energy in his hands.

"Ka..me..ha..me.." a bright blue light flickered as he gathered his energy.

"HA!" He screamed, releasing the energy and sending it straight for Buu. The pink child was slightly shocked at the amount of energy put into the blast, but smirked and blocked it with his hands, pushing forward to try and send it right back at Gohan.

"Gohan!" Goku yelled, running to where he was standing right next to his eldest son, soon followed by Goten. The two new arrivals both formed their own kamehameha's to join Gohan's, desperately trying to help the boy. Goku refused to let Gohan do this alone, not again. He had made that mistake by forcing Gohan to fight Cell on his own, but not again! Goku and Goten's blasts were helping, but it still wasn't enough, Buu was still trying to send it right back at them.

Piccolo saw this and thought, desperately wracking his brain for a solution. That's when he sensed it. Gohan wasn't using all of his energy!

"Gohan! You've got to let it go! There's no need to be afraid anymore, my friend! Your father and Goten are there beside you! You're not alone, not anymore!" Piccolo yelled, encouraging the boy to fight harder. Gohan closed his eyes. This is exactly like when he faced Cell. The differences being that he has both his arms instead of one. He still had to protect his friends and family, even if most of them are already dead. But the biggest difference was that he wasn't fighting this alone. His father and brother were both right next to him, his father to his right and brother to his left. They were both fighting alongside him. What hurt most was thinking about what would happen after they win this fight. Where would he go? He had hurt everyone and nearly killed them all. No one would want him around, but he doesn't blame them.

His negative thoughts distracted him, causing his energy to weaken and waver. If he let Buu kill them all, then he wouldn't have to face his friends and family again. But, what if he had to face them in Otherworld? No, he was almost completely sure that he would go to hell. But, he can't do that to Trunks and Goten. They were still so you, they had so much to live for. Is it worth it, though? All the hateful stares he was most certainly going to get. His mother would probably shun him. Worst of all, what about the boys? Would they forgive him? Are they going to hate him just as much as the others? Hate him more than his friends? What's going to happen if he saves the world. Will he be all alone?

"Gohan! Please!" Goku begged, the strain of Buu pushing back on the blasts was almost unbearable.

"Big brother! Please, help!" Goten pleaded, not used to this amount of strain that was being placed on his body. Tears welled up in Gohan's eyes, he knew he had to do it. His brother was in pain! Clenching his eyes shut, the tears fell freely from his eyes as he searched deep within himself. Maybe, Gohan thought, if I use enough energy, I might not make it and I could leave this world after I saved it. Maybe, this time, I could go to a peaceful place. Please.

Gohan found what he was searching for, his large reserves of energy, and released it. Released everything he had. The blast expanded, making it enormous as it hit Buu, who couldn't fight back anymore. The energy engulfed his entire body, destroying every single cell within. The blast raised to the air and blasted into space where it fizzled out. Not a single trace of Buu was left. He was finally gone.

Goku fell back and sat on his rear, completely exhausted. Goten fell down, staring at the sky as he laughed through his panting. Relief could be felt in the air, it was finally over. Gohan didn't feel the relief though. It didn't work. He was still there, arms wrapped around himself as his shoulders shook, fighting with himself not to let his tears fall anymore than they already did. His eyes were still clenched shut, though he could still hear the victorious laughter coming from the two boys and Goku. Dende was cheering from where he was running up to them. Gohan took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

Piccolo allowed himself a brief smile of victory, though he turned serious once he turned to where Gohan stood. He could see that the boy was clutching on to himself, most probably for comfort. It was clear to him that the teen was crying, the evidence being the almost vicious shaking of his shoulders. Piccolo watched as Gohan took deep breaths, calming himself. Gohan turned slightly to stare at his father and brother who were laughing together, oblivious to the pained look in the teenager's eyes. Vegeta had noticed the boy's actions as well, but didn't outwardly show that he knew.

"Alright! Now we have to gather the dragon balls and wish everyone back!" Goku exclaimed as he stood back up.

"Goku, if you haven't forgotten, we still have four months to go before we can make that wish," Piccolo said.

"Oh, right," Goku said, scratching his head.

Gohan sighed before he face palmed. Sometimes, his friends and family could be real idiots.

"Not to mention the fact that Buu could have managed to destroy them," Vegeta added.

"Ah! What are we gonna do?!" Goku exclaimed, nearly panicking.

"Are you stupid? Just go to planet Namek and ask to use their dragon balls," Gohan said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That's right! But, planet Namek is too far for me to sense," Goku said, slightly down because of that fact.

"We can ask the Supreme Kai to take Dende there," Gohan stated, just as the Supreme Kai and Kibito arrived in front of them.

"You have done well, Gohan!" Shin praised.

"Thanks," Gohan said, face blank and voice emotionless.

"Can you take Dende to planet Namek, Supreme Kai? Please?" Goku asked, nearly begging the Kai.

"Yes, yes of course," Shin answered.

"Great! Remember Dende, wish for everyone killed by Buu to come back!" Goku instructed.

"And to restore the earth to it's natural way, before Buu," Piccolo added.

"Alright," Dende spoke, disappearing with Shin and Kibito.

It was silent when they left. Gohan turned his back on the others, staring into the distance. He had to figure out what to do next.

"When are you leaving, Goku?" Piccolo asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"When everyone's back, I want to say goodbye first," Goku answered, nkt looking at Piccolo, but at Gohan's back. It didn't go unnoticed the way Gohan tensed when Piccolo first asked that question. Goku turned to the Namekian, a serious expression on his face.

"Will you look after him for me, Piccolo? He needs help and I'm not going to be able to give that to him," Goku asked.

"You have my word, I'll try my best to save him," Piccolo spoke, their voices hushed so Gohan wouldn't hear them. Not that the teen could.

Gohan was fighting with himself to stay awake. His sight was blurry and he couldn't hear properly. He was exhausted and his body couldn't handle it anymore. Finally, his body won the battle and Gohan collapsed, panting heavily before his breathing turned shallow. The two children were the first to notice. They ran up to Gohan, turning the teen so that he could lay on his back.

"Is he okay?" Goten asked, gazing at his brother.

"Yeah I think he's just tired," Trunks replied.

"We should go, Dende already made the wishes," Goku said, walking over to where the teen was and picked him up, cradling the boy carefully in his arms before taking to the air, flying towards the lookout.

Shin, Kibito and Dende were already there when they arrived, as well as the ones who were brought back to life.

"Goten!" Chi-Chi yelled, running to her little boy and hugging him, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Bulma did much the same with Trunks, crying her own tears as she nearly hugged the life out of the purple haired boy.

"Goku? When did you get back?" Krillin asked, Goku being the last one who had landed on the lookout.

"King Yemma sent me to fight against Buu until Gohan's training was done. He saved the world, again," Goku answered as he knelt next to Chi-Chi, sitting on his legs, still cradling the teenager in his arms.

"Oh my poor baby!" Chi-Chi wailed, letting go of Goten to hug her eldest son.

"Here, I'll heal him," Dende offered.

"No, you have used to much of your energy already, I will do it," Kibito said, stepping forward before kneeling down near Gohan, placing his hand on the boy's chest, he healed the teen. Once finished, he stepped back once again. A tense silence filled the air as they waited for the boy to wake up. Gohan's eyes fluttered open, just barely making out the image of his mlther before he closed them again. When he opened his dark eyes once more, he could clearly make out his mother's form. He could sense the tension in the air and it was thick. Sighing mentally, he decided to play innocent and not scare his friends off.

"M-mom?" He stuttered, voice soft.

"Gohan? Sweetie, are you alright?" Chi-Chi asked, still slightly cautious around the boy. Gohan nodded, slowly sitting up.

Groaning in pain, Gohan forced his body to work and stand up. He stumbled slightly before he was steadied by a hand, which caught him by his upper arm. Glancing back, Gohan saw that it was his father who had steadied him. Biting back the anger that he felt in his chest, Gohan gently took his arm out of his father's grasp, not wanting to offend the man before he left.

"Well, I guess that it's time to say goodbye," Goku said softly.

"Don't go daddy, please!" Goten pleaded, tears already gathering in his eyes.

"I have to, Goten," Goku replied, picking the little boy up and hugging him tightly. Goten buried his head in Goku's chest, crying softly.

"Don't worry, I'll see you again one day. Besides, Gohan's here, remember. You can play with all day," Goku comforted, holing that the mention of his older brother would cheer him up. Goten sniffed, nodding his head as he hugged his father back before Goku paced him back down on the ground.

Next, Goku hugged Chi-Chi, saying that he would miss her and see her again one day.

"I already asked Piccolo to watch out for Gohan, but please, take care of him," Goku pleaded, not wanting a repeat of what had happened when he first left.

"I will Goku, I promise," Chi-Chi spoke, their voices hushed as they still hugged. Once Goku let go of his wife, he turned to the rest of his friends.

"I'll see you guys later, take care, okay?" Goku said, smiling brightly as his friends said their own goodbyes. Bulma was near tears, not because Goku was leaving, but because she was afraid of what would happen once he left. Would everything go back to normal? What would happen to Gohan? Is he going to be okay? She didn't want a repeat of what had happened either, much like Goku. She silently vowed to herself that she would make more of an effort to see if the boy was alright.

Goku turned to Gohan whp had his arms crossed and his weight resting on one of his feet. He gave off the impression that he didn't care, but Goku knew better. He could see the pain and fear in the boy's eyes. For once, Gohan couldn't keep his emotions away entirely. Goku could read the emotions in his son's eyes as he got closer to the boy. Fear. Was one that shown the most. He didn't know why the boy was scared. He stopped in front of Gohan, a new emotion surfacing. Confusion. Smiling, Goku aced both of his hands on Gohan's shoulders, watching the boy closely. Heartache and sadness. Misery even. Goku smiled sadly and dragged Gohan towards him, hugging the boy tightly to his chest. At first, Gohan didn't react and Goku feared that the boy would reject him and push him away. After a little while, though, Gohan hugged him back.

Goku knew that this wouldn't solve any of their problems and it broke his heart to leave it unsolved, but he had no other choice. Squeezing Gohan briefly before letting go, Goku smiled sadly at the boy once again.

"I'm so proud of you, son," Goku said, tensing slightly when anger flashed in his son's dull eyes. Eyes that used to be so bright and full of life, full of love and kindness.

"You'll take care of your mother and brother for me, right?" Goku asked hopefully. After a moments hesitation he received a few nods of Gohan's head as an answer.

"Good. You take care of yourself, too, alright? Goodbye, my son. I love you," Goku said as he started to lift in the air. Gohan felt as though he was being choked though it was only because he tried to prevent himself from crying. Love him? Why would someone love him? Especially someone he was responsible for taking their life. He didn't understand. He watched with tears in his eyes as his father flew higher into the sky, before disappearing. Gohan wanted to scream out for his father to come back, that he was sorry and beg the man not to leave him again, but he kept silent. He didn't deserve it. After all, he was responsible for the man's death.


End file.
